The Arizona Fall League is officially winding down. The Championship games will end on November 16th (two days before my birthday). Zyhir Hope, Sean McLain, Eriq Swan, and Jake Gelof did not make anyone believe they will be superstars, but they did show promise of being useful players as they mature. Of course, Hope has the tools, being a 5-tool player, but at 19, he’s still hard to project. It’s…
To all the Vets who served and came home: “THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!” Freedom ain’t free! Also, let’s never forget the ones who didn’t make it home. Rants and Raves
The stars are aligning! Japan’s ace Roki Sasaki is on the brink of a Major League debut, poised to electrify fans stateside in the 2025 season. The Chiba Lotte Marines have announced they’ll be posting Sasaki, the consensus top young pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. The 23-year-old phenom, who turned 23 on November 3, has dazzled in NPB since his 2021 debut, wielding a fiery fastball that blazes past 100…
AI (Artificial Intellegence) is something I use everyday. I know… one of you is going to say, “Well, you need it.” TOUCHE! When ChatGPT first came out a few years ago, I subscribed for life ($20/month) and gradually began to use it more and more every week. Just for fun, I asked it this question, “What happened to Miguel Vargas after he was traded by the Dodgers to the White…
Pitchers used to pitch like 200-300 innings a year. They won 300 to 500 games in their career and were deemed “Iron Men.” Now, pitchers are lucky to pitch into the fifth inning and log 150 innings a season. Is it true that they “just don’t build them like they used to?” That’s actually a very ignorant thing to say. It’s not stupid – just ignorant of the facts. Pitchers…
The LA Dodgers will carry fourteen pitchers next year because they have the advantage of listing one as a position player. This will enable them to use the same number of bullpen pitchers as this season as Shohei Ohtani joins the Dodgers rotation. Clayton says he will be back, although I doubt that he will be ready to start the season after toe and knee surgery this offseason. Maybe the…
Clayton is having surgery on his toe and knee and says he will play next year. I think many of you will be surprised at his success.
Andrew Friedman’s stated goal is to compete in the World Series every year, so right after the parade, the Dodgers will be back to work getting ready for next year. No one can predict what will happen for sure as lots of dominos all across baseball have to fall and then the Dodgers will have to react. I am sure that Teoscar has been told already to “go do what…
I told you so! Yes, the Dodgers are the 2024 World Champs, and yes, Dave Roberts did a masterful job. Yes, the Dodgers won four out of five games. But, the Yankees had a higher batting average than the Dodgers, a higher OB%, higher SLG, higher OPS, and more HRs, but the Dodgers only outscored them by one run in the entire World Series. The Yankees had a 3.83 ERA,…
Last night, the Dodgers did not pull out all the stops to try to win the World Series in New York. After winning three World Series games in a row, the Dodgers elected not to use any of their high-leverage pitchers in a bullpen game. Instead, they elected to use Casparius, Hudson, Knack, and Honeywell. Casparius and Knack fairly acquitted themselves, but Hudson and Knack were a disaster! I’m OK…