LA Dodger Talk

The Times… They are a Changin’

January 31, 2019
92 comments

Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’Or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’. Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come againAnd don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spinAnd there’s no tellin’…

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The Northwoods League

January 30, 2019
58 comments

As baseball fans and Dodger enthusiasts, fanatics, maniacs, zealots or whatever mantra might apply to us, we spend the season following MLB and the minor leagues, especially the Dodger affiliates. We also pay some attention to high school ball and college ball, both of which wind up in June and are more of interest around the time of the First-Year Player Draft. However, there is another layer of baseball that does…

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A Checkup From the Neck Up

January 29, 2019
69 comments

So… many Dodger fans and Dodger Bloggers and Dodger Journalists are saying that the Dodgers are cheap and ran like the Tampa Bay Rays because they won’t go out and trade bushels of top prospects for Kluber or Realmuto or that they won’t sign Bryce Harper to a 14 year/$420 million dollar contract. Look, there is no dumbass vaccine and I am convinced that fans who want that are mentally…

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Meet Pedro (Petie) Montero

January 28, 2019
40 comments

In a previous article I included a brief sketch of Pedro Montero who was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers for the 2019 season serving as the Drillers bench coach. As mentioned, Montero is a high energy, excitable young man who has an infectious effect on the players he coaches. In fact, with any young players with whom he makes contact. It is difficult to see him without a smile on…

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Why A.J. Pollock?

January 24, 2019
102 comments

If were are under the illusion that Bryce Harper was coming to the Dodgers, then you are likely to be asking that question… and it’s possible anything I say will not satisfy you. I was not a fan of getting AJ Pollock and really wanted Nick Castellanos, but Castellanos was going to cost several players – I have no clue exactly who. It’s not that Friedman won’t trade prospects –…

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The New LA Dodgers

January 22, 2019
48 comments

Farhan Zaidi is the President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants right here, right now… and while it may never be fully understood what role Zaidi had in in the managing and coaching decisions by the LA Dodgers, I think by the end of the 2019 season, we will find out that Farhan was a micro manager. Great guy, but he was not good at deligation. He had…

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Breakout Candidates

January 21, 2019
67 comments

Every year, certain players regress, some stay the same and others breakout.  It’s hard to predict who will do what, but there are a few clues that might be there as to which players may be “Breakout Candidates.” Justin Turner “brokeout” with the Dodgers.  So did Chris Taylor in 2017. JD Martinez brokeout as a Tiger.  Scooter Gennett brokeout as a Red.  Breakout years happen all the time… sometimes when…

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Your Straight Jacket is Ready…

January 18, 2019
43 comments

When the Dodgers were sold the last time, Guggenheim and Company were not my pick to be the owners, but here we are.  There’s nothing you or I can do about that. They are the owners, and they certainly have a very peculiar set of circumstances. They are under SEC investigation, defending lawsuits, their principals are using their personal wealth as security, shareholders are upset (maybe even revolting), they are…

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You’ve Got to Know When To Hold ’em…

January 17, 2019
46 comments

As I talk to Dodger fans or read comments around the blogsphere, it is apparent that there are three schools of thought about the Dodgers: Friedman Hater: This is the most prevelant.  Andrew Friedman won’t spend any money, he dumped payroll and won’t trade any top prospects.  The Dodgers won’t make the playoffs this year.  Wait and See:  These fans don’t have a strong opinion and believe that the Dodgers…

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Gold Gloves, Junkyard Dogs, MysteryTeams and Brain MRI’s

January 15, 2019
66 comments

GOLD GLOVES In the 2017 season, Yasiel Puig absolutely should have won a Gold Glove, but was denied… probably because lots of people did not like him.  He vowed to use his snub as a springboard and win the Gold Glove in 2018, but for whatever reasons, he regressed immensely, so much so that he was not even in the discussion.  This is not an indictment on Yasiel (I dissed…

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