Disclaimer: What we are seeing is through the microcosm of Spring Training. Current performance is not evidence of future prospects. It is a small sampling. Some of it is skill and some of it is luck. Take it all with a grain of salt. The Position Players It was great to see Gavin Lux get two hits in three at-bats. If anything, all he needs is confidence and he should…
I am sad to say that it appears to me that Street & Smith’s Baseball Yearbook has ceased production. Since I was a kid, I have always bought Athlon Sports Baseball Preview, Lindy’s Sports Baseball Preview, and Street & Smith’s Baseball. It appears that Street & Smith’s has bit the dust and Athlon and Lindy’s can’t be far behind. Time marches on but the nostalgia seems to be waning. Print…
Today is the day that pitchers and catchers are due to report to Camelback Ranch for the Dodgers. Tomorrow is the first day of workouts. Full squad reports February 22, with the first full squad workout scheduled for February 23. The Dodgers play their first spring training game on Sunday, February 28 against the Oakland A’s at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. There will be some rules in effect that…
Second base is up for grabs. About two-thirds of all teams in MLB would love to have Chris Taylor… and we could sure do worse. However, is this the year Gavin Lux seizes the day and fulfills his promise? This could possibly play out and CT3 becomes the “Swiss-Army Knife.”
The closer we get to Spring Training the more likely Justin Turner is not going to continue his Dodger career. It appears that the Salary Cap. ‘errr Luxury Tax is a real thing. Justin Turner had a great Dodger career, but without the DH and the presence of the salary cap, we need to prepare to move on. It sucks, but sometimes when you get lemons, you simply need to…
There has been a lot of talk by MLB fans in general how the Padres may have caught the Dodgers. On the East coast, most in NY and Atlanta believe they have better 26-man rosters. Dodger fans of course take offense at such a charge. None of the four teams are finished completing their rosters, but I thought I would take a more in depth look at a Dodgers/Padres comp,…
In a November 15, 2015 article authored by Matthew Moreno at dodgerblue.com, Andrew Friedman and Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten maintained that the extravagant spending for the Dodgers would not continue, and that the 2016 season would provide a small opportunity to make progress toward balancing the scale. According to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly recently echoed a similar sentiment, going so far as to…
A little premature to know if AF is finished yet, but the Dodger bullpen has already been overhauled some. Knebel, Cleavenger, Kahnle, the new kids on the block. Kahnle will not pitch this season, and Cleavenger has never pitched above AA. Wood and Baez have gone to SF and Houston respectively, and McGee so far has not been signed anywhere. And the roster sits at 40. There are all sorts…
Even if the Dodgers do not sign Justin Turner, they are the class of the NL – It’s just that the gap has lessened! Position-by-position and pitcher-by-pitcher, it is my opinion that the Padres are not the equal of the Dodgers, but they are better than they were last season. The keyword right about now is: DON’T PANIC!
Dodger fans are no different than other teams’ fans. They read what team personnel say about their prospects and build them up to be can’t miss. I like to watch them play, see videos, and read from objective baseball pundits. Baseball America is that kind of publication. In short scouting reports, they tell the fan all they want to hear. But in chats, the pundits can be more objective. Kyle…