20 posts
It has been a long time since I have felt a desire to write. I am hoping that I can at least finish this one. I have been trying to finish a certain blog post that I started last March, but have not been able to do so. I was able to write a somewhat complete email to Harold (DC) last week, and responded to two very close friends last
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
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
Keep Tommy Lasorda in your prayers, but he is 93 and the Big Dodger in the Sky is going to get this baseball icon sooner or later. We love you Tommy!
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,
When I took over the administration of LA DodgerTalk , I said that I would continue as long as I enjoyed what I was doing. The time has come for me to announce that it is no longer fun for me. I was offered an opportunity to consult on back office procedures for a non-profit company involved with School Choice, and I have decided to accept the challenge. I have
Admittedly I am writing this without knowing the submitted Playoff Rosters for either team, but I I am going to give it a go anyway. I have already indicated who I thought would be on the Dodgers playoff roster. But for consistency: 1B Muncy 2B CT3 3B JT SS Seager LF AJ CF Belli RF Mookie C Smith DH – Rios Bench:
As baseball aficionados we all know who should play, who should play where, what the best batting lineup should be, how to “correct” batting stances, etc. We are all more knowledgeable than the Presidents of Baseball Operations, or the managers, or the pitching coaches, or the hitting coaches. We have all played the game, some at advanced levels. But to my knowledge, nobody on this site has ever climbed the
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
I have been away for a bit due to some unexpected personal family matters, but I have continued to read the blog everyday. Last week when Mark proclaimed, “This could not only be the best Dodger bullpen of All-Time, but it could also be one of the best in the game… maybe ever!”, many unsurprisingly jumped on that testament. I have been a huge critic of the bullpen makeup, and
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
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
Well, the horse is dead and I won t beat it (very long), but I think Andrew Freidman made a mistake in letting Yimi Garcia walk when he could have been signed for about $1.1 million and if he was going to let him go, why didn t he do it two weeks ago and put Jordon Sheffield on the 40-man? I know that that AF is not perfect, but this move
The Will Smith era has officially begun. In his first game as the primary catcher for the LAD, he caught Clayton Kershaw. There were no noticeable miscommunications between the two. Kersh got off to a rough start, but settled in nicely for still another QS. Offensively, you could not ask for a better game. 3-3 with 2 doubles, a HR, sac fly, and 6 RBIs. This new offensive threat for
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
It took 174 games, but the Dodgers are heading back to the World Series. As I stated yesterday, it seems like this team needs to have their backs against the wall before they kick it in gear. From the shouts that we are going to single them to death to come back to getting a 2 run HR and a 3 run HR to beat the Brewers in Game 7 .
Pumpkin Nights vs. Dodgers Baseball. That was my choice last night. Do I go with the family to see a festival of lights made from carved out pumpkins with various themes or do I stay home and watch Game 6? Well today they have a mechanism that allows you to record television shows, so you can watch them later. So, as you can see by the picture, I chose to
In a game that started so positively for the Dodgers, quickly morphed into what we have come to expect…a lot of strikeouts, inability to create runs, and questionable player changes during the game. But it was all a prelude to what may go down as the THE GAME to take the team to a WS Championship. I always like it when the leadoff hitter gets on base. After a
One day you’re the goat, and the next day you’re the GOAT. Okay maybe not GOAT, but certainly greatest hitter on that day. After going 0-5 with 4 strikeouts and an error in Game 1, Justin Turner goes 2-4 and hits a go-ahead 2 run HR in Game 2. With CT3 on 1st base after an infield single, Justin Turner hit a 2-0 splitter that stayed up over the middle
In a game where the two best hitters struck out 7 out of 10 plate appearances, this was a very hard game to watch much less write about. Unfortunately for the good guys, JT s strikeouts were much more problematic than Christian Yelich s. The Blue put up a good fight late, but Game 1 goes to Craig Counsell in his chess match against Dave Roberts. It appears that Counsell played Roberts
