38 posts
Not all trades work out. Specifically, I am talking about Ryan Pepiot and Jonny LeDuca for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot. It’s easy for a fan to look at a glass half full or a glass half empty. I prefer to think that there is no glass. Every trade is “Risk vs. Reward.” In the…
I like to break things down to their simplest form, and here is why the Dodgers were swept in the NLDS: They could not score more than two runs a game. In 162 games, the Dodgers averaged 5.6 runs a game, but in this three-game series, they scored just two runs a game. They were…
There is no way to sugarcoat this, so I will just say it: “ Andrew Friedman failed the Dodgers by not having starters stacked at least twelve deep.” At the start of the season, the Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and Noah Syndergaard…
That’s our agenda today, boys and girls! Tony Gonsolin So, now we know for sure that an “elbow injury” is likely going to keep Tony Gonsolin out for the remainder of the season. That’s all we know – there’s a whole lot more to know but at this juncture that Dodgers and/or Tony…
When an iceberg is floating free in the ocean, only a small part of the whole is actually visible. Perhaps ten percent of the iceberg is discernible above the water line, while the rest is hidden below the surface in the depths of the ocean. Think about that, ninety percent of…
The talent in the Dodger’s bullpen has gone from being the best team in baseball to literally being the worst team in baseball (or very close to it). What is the solution to the bullpen dilution? I think I have it figured out, and it involves Mark Prior. Before you lose your…
This saying has a very deep metaphysical meaning which, over the years, many of the ancient mystics sought to understand and explain in terms that the common man could comprehend; however, the real meaning has been obfuscated until recently during the cultural revolution when I…
For the past several weeks, we have been discussing who is going to play where and how the rookies will fit in. Will Lux play SS or 2B? Will Vargas play 3B, 2B or LF? Will Outman start in CF? Will Busch play anywhere? There is a lot to be decided, and we are not going to solve…
We have hashed and re-hashed the state-of-the Dodger’s pitching for what seems like a hundred years when it has only been a few weeks. I have maintained that the Dodgers do not need another starter, as that starter blocks Pepiot, Stone, and Miller. However, when a player wants…
That means he is really not fixed – you can just see the momentum shift as he throws strikes and then throws balls. I hope, wish, and pray he is fixed, but he’s not. I hope to the Big Dodger in the Sky that I am wrong. He’s Kenley Jansen revisited. The Dodgers will rue the day…
One-third of the 162 game season is over! The Dodgers are in first place in the NL West, 2.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres and 5.5 games ahead of the Midgets. It should not be lost on anyone that the Dodgers have had their #1 and their #2 starters perform poorly and that…
Do not try and make any sense of the last two games. There is no sense involved. Cody Bellinger is making progress, he is getting close… he is starting to hone in. He still is not where he needs to be, but I think he is on the right path. Stay tuned… Now, it is all about timing…
Since there has been a glut of injuries to Dodger players this season, I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. So far there have been, and hopefully will not be any career-threatening injuries. May, Rios, Nelson are all out for the year. Early in the season, May and Rios were injured and have already had their surgeries. Nelson still waiting to see how they will handle his .
Occasionally, I have a little more information than some of you (at times), but it s not nearly as much as it used to be when I had several members of the Dodgers Organization on Speed dial. Jeff probably has a lot more inside connections than I do now. Since Andrew Friedman became President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers, I have very little inside information and that is by Andrew s
October 27, 2020 After that unforgettable strikeout of Willy Adames by Julio Urias Almost four months to the day, the Dodgers are going to be taking the field in an actual baseball game, even if it is only a ST game. The Dodgers are starting 32 year old LHP, Mike Kickham. Kickham signed a MiLB contract on January 27. Lat year Kickham last year pitched for Boston, and pitched in
During the current season with all of its oddities I have been most interested in a few of the Dodger players. That is, not the big boys but those most recently to the scene. I have already written about Will Smith who might just be my new favorite Dodger. He is a player and I love his clean cut appearance and work ethic but as a high draft pick he
Boy, I need to say that Corey Seager has gone into a slump more often. HR (13), double (13), single, 2 RBIs, a couple of good plays at SS. But he sure did choke with that weak ground ball to first when he needed a triple. This is a different Corey Seager from last year. He is now tied for the team lead in RBIs with 36 with Mookie. It
Who the heck were those players wearing Dodger uniforms in the Rockies’ and D-backs’ series? Whoever they were, they certainly did not perform like a playoff caliber team. They struggled with pitching, struggled with hitting, and couldn’t play defense. My, my, my, that’s typically a recipe for baseball disaster!! Heaven forbid that team should have to play the mighty Padres in the playoffs. The Dodgers may as well go home
I have been a baseball and Dodger fan for slightly more than 60 years. My love for baseball was immediate, and with the Dodgers, it was love at first sight. In that sixty years, I have listened to or watched roughly 7,500 Dodger games. I have also watched and coached countless youth ball and high school baseball games. I have also had the pleasure of watching my sons participate in
We cannot summarize the two game series against the Asterisks without reengaging about Joe Kelly. Let’s look at the pitch to crybaby Correa to get his mouth going and get Kelly “taunting”. Was Correa really upset about a breaking ball high and tight that went to the backstop to put runners in scoring position? I doubt that was Kelly’s plan. Was he complaining about the pitch to Bregman? No he
We have all heard about the Dodgers and their best in MLB history run of 60 games in 2017 with a 51-9 record. They also pulled off a 42-8 record in a 50 game stretch in 2013 before going 47-13 in 60 games. Both of those runs came later in the season. But how have they done in their first 60 games? Using their 7 year top NL West run
Time for Dodger Baseball. I like the sound of that as we begin Spring Training games today against the hated Giants. We all know ST games are meaningless in wins and losses, but I still want to see a win in every game. If you compete, compete to win. Before I get into ST, I want to offer my response to the apparent skepticism about the Dodger pitching. Are there
If everything comes together as planned, 2020 could be the magical season we all hoped for since 1988. 2017 looked to be that season, but the cheating Astros stopped it. 2019 was elite, but they just lacked something more 2020 it is! This could very well be epic one for the ages. It s a great time to be a Dodger fan! The Dodgers didn t get Gerrit Cole, but Plan B
Since my wife and I started US Systems in our garage 18 years ago, we have never both been able to be gone for more than 4 or 5 days due to the demands of it. However, in the past two years, we have hired 5 vice-presidents in Sales, Finance, Marketing, Engineering, and Operations from the corporate world. This is the first time we have been able to be gone
It is highly doubtful that the Dodgers are done this off-season in trying to improve their roster, but let’s suppose this is it. If the Dodgers make no further moves this off-season. How will the season turn out? I say they still win the N.L. West by 7-8 games. They finish the season with 96 wins. They prepare for the postseason with a trade deadline deal to put them in
Despite the frustrating end to this past season, the Dodgers provided me with some memorable moments in 2019. Opening day with the 8 home runs was a nice start to the season. Bellinger just going insane for the first 2-3 months of the year. Ryu going 6-0 in May. Buehler’s 16K complete game against the Rockies. The rookies’ 3 successive walk-off homerun weekends. Will Smith’s first major league home
Rich Hill won the 2019 Tony Conigliaro Award, becoming the first Dodger to do so. The award has been given out every year since 1990 to a Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony Conigliaro. Rich Hill is a worthy recipient and I hope he will accept a reasonable one-year incentive-laden deal. Rich Hill exemplifies what power the
Mark is often criticizing many of us who seem to propose what he believes to be dope fiend moves. Now granted, there are some very silly FA signings, and perhaps dope fiend is a proper description. But just because a change is recommended and one does not agree with it, does not automatically qualify the transaction as being dope fiend. Per an Andy McCullough article in the Athletic, In December
Thomas John Watson Sr. was an American businessman, who served as the President, Chairman, and CEO of International Business Machines or IBM as we call it, from 1914 to 1956. In the early 1940’s, some on the board of directors were lobbying to remove Watson as IBM s President because inventories were too high. It was after the depression and business was not flourishing and they wanted Tom Watson out. At that
Frankly, I am a person who believes that conventional wisdom is usually wrong. That leads me to look at things some people don t notice and see things that they don t. It s not a science more of an art that has to be continually refined. When many investors are buying, I may be selling and when they are selling, I am looking to buy. Like anyone, I am not always right,
