Just Rants… and Raves

April 19, 2019

If Alex Verdugo can throw a 98.4 MPH seed from LF to Home Plate to gun down a poor defenseless runner, he can probably throw 103 MPH off a mound. The Dodgers should immediately convert him back to a pitcher. Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com anointed Dennis Santana as the Dodgers future closer. However, AC and I did that a year ago. He’s the Dodgers future closer unless…

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RF Belongs to Verdugo

April 18, 2019

Lots of other blogs give you a game recap. There are billions of those blogs and they do a good job. I just try and give you another perspective, win or lose. When they win, they are’t this king of the world and when they lose, they are not the scum of the earth. I try and keep even keel and eliminate knee-jerk reactions. After sweeping the Reds, the Dodgers…

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Dodgers Are Still Series Favorites

April 16, 2019

OK, this is going to be the last I ever speak of this.. well, that’s a lie – I probably will speak of it again. However, Las Vegas now has the Dodgers and Astros at +600 odds to make the World Series. The Yankees and Red Sox are next in line with +650 and +700 odds while the Phillies and Cubs are +1000. So, I have a problem when people…

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After the First Two Weeks

April 13, 2019

I wrote a post on slow starts by the Dodgers, and while I did not predict there would be a slow start, history tells us to expect it. When the team got off to such a fast start (8-2), comments like “What slow start” were readily made. I indicated that I was happy with the fast first 10 games, but I also cautioned that it could not last because: a)…

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Life Isn’t Fair

April 8, 2019

We all know that life isn’t fair and it especially is not fair that Joc has to sit against four straight lefties simply because he can’t hit them. However, it’s unfair to the rest of the team to have Joc hitting against the lefty. So, Joc loses… while the team wins. Simple math… It’s way too early to pronounce that Robert Van Socyoc’s new age hitting direction a resounding success,…

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Positional Gaps in the Organization

April 6, 2019

The strength of the Farm system is unquestionably the pitching. It is not even close. The breakdown of the MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects is: 12 – RHP 2 – LHP 4 – Catchers 5 – SS/2B 4 – 3B/1B 3 – OF Baseball America pretty much resembles MLB Pipeline’s prospect list except BA includes reliever Josh Sborz, and OF Carlos Rincon, replacing Braydon Fisher, Marshall Kasowski, and Leonel Valera….

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What About the Platoons?

April 2, 2019

It has already been established by Doc Roberts that left field, first base and catcher will be manned by a platoon. Well, actually, catcher is not so much of a platoon but rather a way to keep Barnes from being overworked, so Russ Martin will catch about 3 days a week or something thereabouts. Since Right-Handers make up about 70% of the pitchers, that means that at 1B, Max Muncy…

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Slow Start… Says Who?

April 1, 2019

Some fans thought the Dodgers would miss the almost 70 HR they lost in three players… I can’t seem to remember who they were. Ha! The team is on pace to hit 696 HR. They might cool off a bit. (eyes rolling) The outlook after the first four games are promising, but we played the Little Sisters of the Poor and will continue with the Littler Sisters of the Poorer…

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Contract Extensions The New Free Agency?

March 30, 2019

It must have been painful for some of these free agents going through contract negotiations the last couple of years. Led by AF, most teams are not all that keen on signing over age players/pitchers to long term $100MM + deals, and the players’ agents are having a rough time talking their clientele into accepting a deal much less than what they originally believed would be available, but probably closer…

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No Excuses: It’s Time for a Championship!

March 26, 2019

Dodger fans complained that the Dodger’s platooned too much last season, so Andrew Friedman got rid of the logjam in the outfield and announced that there would be less platooning. Of course many fans lost their minds because the Dodgers “gave away” Puig, Kemp and Wood and Kyle Farmer is a “Freaking All-Star! They conveniently forget about the two highly rated prospects the Dodgers got back… both Downs and Gray…

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