No one has ever seen a 30-year-old Shoehei Ohtani play because Shohei will not be 30 years old until July 5th, 2024. However, we did see a 29-year-old Ohtani play, and we saw him tear his UCL and then go on the IL with an oblique strain, which would have likely kept him out of the playoffs… had the Angels made it there. Shohei Ohtani is a generational talent, but…
NOTE: There was recently some discussion about the Rule 5 Draft, so we will discuss it right about now. On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, teams must add eligible minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters or risk losing them in the Rule 5 Draft by 5 p.m. CT. Every December, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs…
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 sure there are a few examples of players getting dumped by the Dodgers and becoming MVP material including a…
Yesterday’s win is a game that can really galvanize a team. It also builds character. Bobby Miller has to take yesterday as a learning moment and look back to learn from it. Can he do that? We shall see. James Outman is starting to make the necessary adjustments. OTOH Miguel Vargas has not adjusted as yet to the top of the zone pitches – It’s not the speed – it’s…
Today, on Dodgers.com, Juan Toribio has a great piece on Noah Syndergaard, who sounds like he has had a fork stuck in him. Andrew Friedman has made a number of excellent acquisitions, but this is not one and you can’t win them all.I think AF is about to end the charade. Toribio writes this: Thor still struggling to regain his thunder With diminished velo, Syndergaard has seen ERA soar to…
It sounds like the Dodgers might get The Knack soon. Great, I used to love the Knack. They had several great songs, like this one: What? It’s not “The Knack?” Is it Landon Knack? Oh, him… who knew? My bad! Well, actually… I have an opinion on this, and I think that just like Michael Grove, Landon Knack should bypass AAA and go directly to Chavez Ravine! He’s so much…
If you happen to think “this” is what Clayton Kershaw happens to be right about now, then you might as well pack it all up and go home. It’s hopeless. In April, Clayton was named the NL Pitcher of the month. Clayton had a great month, going 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. He allowed opposing batters to hit just .175 off of him and struck out 41…
Unconventional thinking is the ability to imagine new possibilities and solve complex problems that have eluded other people. Being unconventional is an essential element in doing original work or creating original ideas. Right now, the Dodgers could use a heavy dose of unconventional thinking. Let’s jump right into where I think the problems are the greatest. Before, I start: That was Vintage Kershaw last night! The Old Man is still the Ace!…
Fans all over the Dodger Blogosphere are talking about Jahmai Jones as the second coming. Is he? Is he a prospect or just a suspect? Jahmai is 25 years old (he will be 26 on August 4, 2023). He was drafted in the 2nd Round of the MLB Amateur Draft in 2015 out of High School (Georgia). So, I went back to Baseball America to see what I could find…
The LA Dodgers Farm System just got some more accolades from the new 2023 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. The Baseball America Prospect Handbook has been published for 23 years and is the creme de la creme for identifying and rating prospects. How do I know? Well, I just do, and it so happens that I have every one of them ever published… except this year’s copy, which is allegedly on…