Come on, Man!

March 1, 2023

Disclaimer: What follows only applies to those that say this really silly stupid stuff. Do you really believe that the Dodgers will have a poor offensive lineup? With Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and JD Martinez? That also means that you don’t think anyone else will step up, right? No rookies. No non-roster invitees. Not Miguel Rojas. Nobody… because everybody sucks! Here is what we have heard…

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2023 Player Predictions

February 22, 2023

Yesterday, Dave wrote this: “Last year you posted your stats predictions for the season. As it turned out they were pretty accurate. So looking forward to that again. But I think we need to wait until end of Spring training for that.” So, I am going to do it a little differently this year. I am going to it now, and I might revise my predictions at the end of…

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Gavin Lux: Dodger Shortstop

February 2, 2023

I am fully resigned to the fact that Gavin Lux is going into Spring Training as the starting SS. I did not believe that he could play SS at the MLB level, but I will have to defer to Andrew Friedman, who knows “a thing or two I don’t!” Lux has added 15 pounds of muscle which might bring his arm up to average. The first time he makes an…

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Rules Changes

January 30, 2023

I started working on this piece with the intention of showing that the 2023 rule changes are significant to the game, and this season will show major changes that baseball has seldom seen. That morphed into a look at baseball history and the rule changes that have occurred over the years.  Maybe I went too far, as dipping back into the origins of the game and rules at the outset…

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Who is the Closer?

January 22, 2023

For a number of years, the Dodgers have had a “Designated Closer.” Most recently, it was Kenley Jansen, followed by Craig Kimbrel. A while before that, it was Game Over Gagne… and others. Many Dodgers fans wanted the Dodgers to sign a closer this Winter. Of course, the usual names came up: Liam Hendriks of the White Sox and David Bednar of the Pirates. I am going to suggest that…

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Understanding the Luxury Tax 

January 14, 2023

The optimist sees bubbles and thinks of champagne. The pessimist thinks Alka-Seltzer. The fact of the matter is that everyone thinks the Dodgers are the richest organization in baseball and should sign an All-Star at every position because that is the recipe for a World Championship. If you believe that, you are either naive or very dumb… or both. First off, what is the Luxury Tax? Actually, it’s called the…

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Who’s Stealing Now?

January 14, 2023

I have been wondering about this. The new bigger bases are supposed to improve the running game, IE, stolen bases. This has been a winter of change. The Dodger’s two best thieves of bags have left the team. Trea Turner, 27, and Cody Bellinger 14 have left via free agency. # 3 on the team last year was Freddie Freeman with 13. Mookie had 12, and Chris Taylor had 10….

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A New Third Baseman & Much More…

January 9, 2023

For the greater part of nine seasons, Justin Turner has been the one player you could count on, day-in-and-day-out! The Dodger’s Manager just penciled his name in at 3B just about every day. Justin was the heart and soul of the Dodgers during this run… and that run is over. Father Time caught up with JT. He is no longer a Top Third-Baseman, and his bat has slowed up. I…

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Happy New Years! Vegas is Wrong

January 1, 2023

The Dodgers are coming off of one of the all-time great seasons in the history of Major League Baseball.  Only the 1906 Cubs had a season in the Senior Circuit with more wins and only 4 teams have ever matched or exceeded 111 wins.  There’s no doubt about it, last year’s team was great, tainted only by an early postseason exit against a team they dominated all season. That’s not…

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Who Really is Michael Busch?

December 27, 2022

Michael Busch is a Minor League Player for the Los Angeles Dodgers who just finished his second full season, even though he was actually drafted in 2019 and had all of 24 ABs in the Minor Leagues because he was hit by a pitch and missed the rest of the season with broken bones. Of course, in COVID-2020, Busch did not play, so 2021 was his actual “first season,” and…

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