Well, here we go. The deadline has passed. Which teams improved their lot the most, and who fanned? The Dodgers, after their initial flurry of activity last week, were expected to be in on just about every good starting pitcher out there. What ended up happening was not what the fans wanted. The Astros get Verlander from the Mets. Although the Dodgers were thought to be in on Verlander, I…
Full disclosure: Mark asked me to write earlier this year, but the strike, errr… lockout came and I might have used it as an excuse to not get going with it. That and I find it very comfortable to read Mark’s take in the morning and use my time writing as a warm-up to get my brain going in the morning. I don’t put much thought into my posts. My…
There has been a lot of speculation about FA the Dodgers may want to re-sign or sign. We have no idea what the CBT will be, or what the penalties will be if a team exceeds that limit with the upcoming CBA. Currently the taxes can reach a maximum 50% for all salaries above the CBT, and can reach a total of 95% for all salaries greater than $40MM in…
Before I answer with my position, let me do my best to lay out some of the factors assuredly being discussed in the Dodger “war rooms”. Max Scherzer is a HOF pitcher who can still bring it at 37. He would be a front of the rotation pitcher even with the Dodgers. This year he is 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA and an exceptional WHIP of 0.886 in 105 IP. …
What a difference a night makes. After last night’s game I commented that the Dodgers need to come out swinging in the 1st against Glasnow. Mookie Betts leads off with an 8 pitch double followed by a run-scoring Corey Seager single, two wild pitches and Seager gets to third. JT strikes out, Muncy walks, Smith K’s and Belli comes up and gets an infield single to score Seager. After a…
Just like every other fan, I have my favorites. I believe I have been more than obvious that Corey Seager has been my favorite Dodger since he was drafted. I also have jerseys for current Dodgers, Kershaw, Buehler, Bellinger, Turner, and Wood. I love the stars, but I am also partial to those who are more role players and not top of the rotation pitchers. The angst I feel with…
The Franchise opened the 2020 World Series and had a game fairly reminiscent of his 2017 Game 1 against the Assterisks. Back in his home town, Clayton Kershaw threw a non-stressful 6.0 innings, and left with an 8-1 lead. He allowed 1 run on 2 hits. He issued a one out walk to Randy Arozarena in the first, and then proceeded to sit down 13 consecutive batters before Kevin Kiermaier…
Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I already had my article queued up and ready for publish before last night’s come from behind walk off win. Zac Gallen is going to be a superstar in this game and he just shut the Dodgers down. But the 2020 Dodgers are relentless and have no quit. I think that is a tribute to Mookie, just as 1988 was a tribute…
Intrasquad games and the exhibition season has come to an end. The results have been generally positive. The offense seems to be working on all cylinders. They are working the count, fouling off pitches, and attacking mistakes. During these games, they have shown they CAN BE a good two strike hitting team. They are going the other way with so much consistency that it is not a mistake. Some are…
Earlier I listed the teams in each of their proposed divisions. At the time, it was anticipated that the Braves and Pirates would switch divisions, but otherwise the two West divisions, the two Central divisions, and the two East divisions would join together to form a single West, Central, and East division. The starting pitching in the West figures to range from terrific to bad to really bad. The Dodgers…