End of an Era?

November 8, 2021

Well, let the bidding begin.  A number of publications have put out their top 50 Free Agents list.  MLBTR is one of my favorites to follow.  They are no better with their prognostications than are any other publication.  They run contests every year, and many of the readers have turned out better with picks than the writers.  One year I got 12 out of 50.  Not bad, but there were…

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CBT Threshold or De facto Salary Cap

January 27, 2021

There has been a lot of chatter about the cool reception the current group of FA’s are receiving.  DJLM got $90MM, but he is going to be spreading that over 6 years for a team favorable AAV.  George Springer turned a small bidding war between the two teams that figured to spend (Mets and Jays) into a Toronto overspend of 5 years $150MM.  That was about $25MM more than the…

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The Status of the 2021 Free Agent Player

January 8, 2021

Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Carlos Carrasco, and the BIG MARKET name, Francisco Lindor.  These four have a chance to be top tier in 2021, with Lindor in the elite class.  And they have all changed teams this offseason.  The first two names have moved the Padres into a top three NL and top four MLB team, while the second two names have moved the NYM to a significant NL East…

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Financing in MLB

December 20, 2020

The financing of a baseball season is going under the microscope this offseason and potentially into next season.  There is no question that MLB lost several billion in revenues. According to Forbes’ estimates from 2019, as gathered by the University of Michigan sports economist Rodney Fort, MLB teams made a total of $9.9 billion as follows: REVENUE (IN BILLIONS) UNDER… CATEGORY NORMAL SEASON HALF-SEASON W/O FANS* Gate receipts $2.84B $0.00B…

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AC’s Musings

November 13, 2020

We need to end this myth that Mookie cannot hit LHP.  Over his career, against LHP, Betts is slashing .297/.379/.509/.888.  Mookie’s career against RHP – .302/.372/.526/.897.  Those seem like even splits to me.  Over his career, Mookie has faced RHP 76% of the time.  I think it is more likely that Betts was unfamiliar with NL LH pitchers, and after a year on a new team and a new league,…

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Patience or Attack

July 28, 2020

We are only four games into the season, and the sniping at Doc is already in full gear.  Not just from LADT commenters, but throughout the Dodgers blogosphere.  Every manager makes horrible decisions throughout the season, and sometimes they actually make some good calls.  Of course, nobody likes to comment on those.  Now maybe some of these decisions are not Doc’s alone.  It seems to be a team philosophy to…

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Final Pre-Season Thoughts

July 22, 2020

Intrasquad games and the exhibition season has come to an end.  The results have been generally positive. The offense seems to be working on all cylinders.  They are working the count, fouling off pitches, and attacking mistakes.  During these games, they have shown they CAN BE a good two strike hitting team.  They are going the other way with so much consistency that it is not a mistake.  Some are…

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Who Will Be LAD #2?

December 29, 2019

I cannot see the Dodgers signing Josh Donaldson.  He reportedly has two pending four year deals (Twins and Washington).  But the Braves have right of last refusal (meaning that is where he wants to play), but they are going to need to guarantee that 4th year, which they are contemplating right now.  There is no reason for the Dodgers to continue to chase their tails here.  JT is a quality…

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