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…
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…
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,…
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…
The off-season is fully here yet, but the banter about the free-agents we should sign or acquire by trade has already begun in full-force. I thought I might join in on the speculation, and throw out some names that haven’t been mentioned before, or at least not recently. Keep in mind that I have not made any in-depth statistical analysis of these players, I don’t have any of their medical…
Yesterday, I wrote that the Dodgers were a young team and what I was specifically referring to was that the “core” was young, especially if Ryu, Hill, Freese, and Martin are not back. The Dodgers had seven (7) rookies impact the team this year: Will Smith Alex Verdugo Gavin Lux Tony Gonsolin Dustin May Kyle Garlick Matt Beaty Next year they will also have a few. The Dodgers are built…
In case you have forgotten, the 2019 LA Dodgers are a young team (overall), with a very deep and very god farm system and accomplished the following: Most Wins in LA Dodger History – 106 Best Team ERA in MLB Yes, it has been 32 years since the Dodgers have won the Worl Series. Yes, 2019 was a bitter pill to swallow. Yes, it is way past time for the…
This past regular season, the Washington Nationals had the worst bullpen in baseball. Out of 30 MLB teams, they were #30 in ERA at 5.66. MLB average was 4.43 and the Dodgers were #4 in MLB in ERA. The Nationals bullpen was also worst in baseball allowing hitters a .266 batting average. To say that their bullpen was horrible would be kind. Yet, here they are on the way to…
As a youngster growing up on the east coast of Canada in the golden years of baseball in the 1950s, I fell into the Vin Scully trap on radio and became a lifer with the Dodgers even when they abandoned me for the far west coast in California. The memories of Duke, Pee Wee, Jackie, Campy and so many other stars still remain fresh in my mind. At the same…
I think it’s time to debunk some myths that have been propounded since the “Debacle of Game 5” (That’s what I call it). In the interest of full disclosure, I called for Dave Roberts firing… and still would fire him, but some of what you all believe about him is incorrect and I’m here to debunk it… among other things. By the way: I can still live with Doc and…