12 posts
After last season, I believed that Justin Turner should have retired. Last season, he struggled at bat and in the field. He came on in the second half, but it looked to me that he was ‘losing it.” He hit only 13 HR, and at age 38, I felt that it was time to retire. JT felt…
QUESTION: “Bellinger’s hitting is “Suspicious” How in the hell does he re-become a 300+ hitter after being soooo friggen terrible? The first memory of being a Dodger Fan is sitting in a barber shop in Van Nuys getting a Butch and on the TV Maury Wills stole his 82nd base. I’m…
Nobody! John Mozeliak, the GM of the St. Louis Cardinals, now says that the Cards are not trading Nolan Arenado… and maybe they aren’t. However, don’t believe anything any MLB baseball executive tells you. PERIOD! Nolan has five years and $144MM remaining on his contract and…
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
I cannot see the Dodgers signing Josh Donaldson. He reportedly has two pending four year deals (Twins and Washington). But the Braves have right of last refusal (meaning that is where he wants to play), but they are going to need to guarantee that 4th year, which they are contemplating right now. There is no reason for the Dodgers to continue to chase their tails here. JT is a quality
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
Bill Veeck, Charlie Finley, George Steinbrenner were examples of owners that were bigger than life and wanted nothing more than to win (and put on a show). Walter O’Malley was cut from the same cloth. Peter was more of a pragmatic businessman who knew he could not spend to stay in the game, and got out. None of those early owners would let MLB tell them how to spend their
BRAVES AND THE PEN: Braves have now signed 3 pitchers who will serve as late inning high leverage relievers. On Monday they signed Chris Martin to a two year $14MM contract after signing Will Smith to a three year $40MM deal. Earlier this month, they signed Darren O’Day to a one year $2.25MM contract. They also have Mark Melancon in the final year of his four year $62MM contract. Thus
Many loyal Dodger fans believe the Dodgers ownership group is cheap and not interested in winning, and only interested in counting profits. Never mind that the Dodgers have spent more on player personnel contracts over the last five years than any other team. They have also spent lavishly on player development and re-focusing on their MiLB programs. I think we can all agree that the contract costs were not all
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
I have been working on about ten different ideas for what to write, and none of them came to a cohesive blog post. Maybe this one will not as well. There has been a lot of speculation as to who the Dodgers may trade for and who they may be required to include in a trade. It is a huge climb from AAA to MLB, and yet we are ready
