What Makes a Good Manager?

November 4, 2019

Due to the press of work, my intended post will have to wait until next week or the week thereafter.   I have been working on a post that explored the topic of “What makes a good Baseball Manager.”   In my research I came across an article by C. Trent Rosecrans, written for Baseball ProGUESTus, in 2012, entitled “What the Insiders Say Makes a Good Manager.”   Rosecrans is currently a senior…

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What About Kaybear?

November 2, 2019

Since I started blogging, I have used this as a forum to give my own personal views about certain prospects. I think I have an eye for talent and I have not been shy about picking out certain players and predicting greatness for them. Right around the time I first started posting on Dodger blogs, I was in Vero Beach and became enamored with an 18-year-old prospect who played 3B….

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Stay the Course!

November 1, 2019

Yesterday, Bleacher Report had a piece where they published the 2020 World Series Odds and again, the Dodgers and Astros are 1-2 in the oddsmaker’s eyes to win the World Series. However, right about now, you would think that the Dodgers are some sort of bottom-dweller, second-rate team if you happen to listen to the fans. What happened in the World Series should only reinforce how hard it is to…

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The Grass is Always Greener…

October 31, 2019

Yes, people think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but sometimes, it’s crabgrass… or Astroturf. People have traveled the world looking for something that was already right under their chin at home. Conventional wisdom demands that the Dodgers add a RH Power Bat, a Frontline Starter, and a Lockdown Reliever. The conventional wisdom demands that Andrew Friedman not look at the waiver wire or…

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I Remember Ron Fairly

October 30, 2019

This will be a relatively short one due to some commitments and poor planning on my part. The article was prompted by William in a post on October 15. William wrote: “Does anyone remember Ron Fairly? Good hitter, not great, but purely based on listening to all the games, no analytics then, I knew that virtually every time he came up in a big spot, he hit the ball hard….

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Maybe He’s Just About Trained…

October 28, 2019

Thomas John Watson Sr. was an American businessman, who served as the President, Chairman, and CEO of International Business Machines or IBM as we call it, from 1914 to 1956. In the early 1940’s, some on the board of directors were lobbying to remove Watson as IBM’s President because inventories were too high. It was after the depression and business was not flourishing and they wanted Tom Watson out. At that…

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Is Dave Roberts a Successful Manager?

October 27, 2019

Taking a break from the should we or should we not sign Cole or Rendon, or both discussion, I thought I would bring our attention back to Dave Roberts and look at him as a manager. A totally non-controversial subject.    Hall of Fame manager, Sparky Anderson had much to say about managers during his illustrious career, including:  “A baseball manager is a necessary evil” and “Just give me 25 guys on…

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Flavor of the Week

October 26, 2019

So many fans look at the Flavor of the Week, which is the player that has the great stats RIGHT NOW or YESTERDAY. That’s the guy they want. These are the flavors of the week right about now: Anthony Rendon – Career year Gerrit Cole – Career year Aaron Bummer – Career year They want those guys because they are thinking they will be the same guys when they are…

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Dodgers Third Baseman and his “Playmaker”

October 23, 2019

Last Wednesday, I wrote an article on Rube Walker – the Father of the Five-Man Rotation – which drew some comments for which I was grateful. Presently, I am not in mourning over the Dodgers untimely exit from post-season play. It happened, it is over, and life goes on. With my ninth decade now staring me in the face each year without one more WS victory is a bit problematic,…

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State of the Starting Pitching

October 22, 2019

I am planning a series of blogs on each aspect of the Dodger team. Today we are going to talk about starting pitching. As it currently stands, Rich Hill and Hyun-jin Ryu are free agents. I would let Ryu walk unless he agreed to a 2-year deal under $38 million. Rich Hill is welcome back on an incentive-laden deal that would put him in the bullpen. Bottom Line: Neither will…

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