71 posts
It seems that a large number of Dodger fans are seemingly enraged when Austin Barnes catches. Yes, he is no Will Smith. “ Will Smith is an All-Star who hits and throws out baserunners .” They go berserk whenever Will Smith is not in the lineup. In their minds, every time that…
I know that many of you hate platoons, but I am down with that. You want to see the best players in there every day (or at least, your idea of the best players). The problem is this: the best hitter against many left-handed pitchers is not a left-handed hitter. Sabermetrics and…
Singer Ray Stevens is given credit for writing the phrase “ There is none so blind as he who will not see ” in a line from the song “Everything Is Beautiful” which was released in 1970. I actually think someone said it long before Crazy Ray. Now, I am not proclaiming that…
If Fickler is not a word, then I just invented it! If you haven’t been paying attention, relief pitchers are a fickle group. If you say that something is fickle, you mean that it often changes and is unreliable, and that would be the correct definition of relief pitchers……
Many… or at least some Dodger fans believe that this Winter, the Dodgers will do something they never have under Andrew Friedman and sign two or maybe even three starting pitchers to long-term deals. Let’s get this over with right now: It is not happening! If you look at Andrew…
Why Shohei Ohtani is not Coming to the Dodgers It is fun to think about Ohtani in the Dodgers lineup. There is a lot of talk about marketing opportunities, reaching the Japanese population, and jersey sales. However, let us not forget that the Dodgers put more butts in seats…
Last week, I said that unless Clayton could recover 3-5 MPH on his fastball, he could not be more than an “opener” and that we could not count on him to help carry the team. Well, last night he recovered at least 1 MPH on his fastball. His fastest pitch was 89.7 MPH. This leads…
… at least he is THIS year. Next year, he will have to contend with Walker Buehler for that role, assuming that Striker can come back strong from his Tommy John Surgery. Bobby Miller is having an excellent rookie season, but in all likelihood, it may be better than the…
The Giants are breathing down the Dodgers ‘ necks. I think the D-Bags will fade (somewhat), but I fully expect the Giants to “sell out” for Shohei Ohtani. The Giants will be eager to “gut the farm” to stick it to the Dodgers. Prepare for it because I think it will happen. Hate…
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…
It’s always nice to beat SD, but yesterday’s game meant nothing. The Dodgers have to beat them when it counts, and this does not! Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May looked like the best #4 and #5 Starters in baseball, but it was only three innings each. Still, it was encouraging…
I had already started this blog post when Whistling Ranger (welcome to LADT) posted this: “I look for the Dodgers to concentrate on roster management in the offseason. There is extreme competition for the 40-man roster. Look for them to trade older players for younger, promising…
The Dodgers have an embarrassment of pitching as Andrew Friedman has stockpiled an incredible amount of depth at perhaps the most valuable position when it comes to postseason baseball. We’ve all heard the adage, “You can never have too much pitching”. I think Andrew Friedman is…
Austin Barnes was drafted by the Marlins in the 9th round of the 2011 amateur draft. In December of 2014, Austin was acquired by Andrew Friedman in one of his first trades with the Dodgers. He was a key piece in the Dee Gordon trade wherein the Dodgers traded Dee Gordon, Dan…
Bumsrap mentioned this last night, but in 1955 in the very first game Sandy Koufax started, he walked eight batters in 4.2 innings. He struck out four and allowed just one run. Walks plagued him for years… until they didn’t. We all know the story of how he fixed his wildness. It…
When the Dodgers went 1-2 in Colorado, all of the morons like Bill Plaschke and a host of bloggers wrote about “What we have learned about the Dodgers ” and a lot of other drivel. We heard that they had pitching problems and that they were “overhyped.” The only thing they really…
There is no denying that Freddie Freeman is one of the best players in baseball. He is a stone-cold hitter and would really help the Dodgers, this year… but at what cost? Freddie Freeman will be 33 this season. Do you really want him blocking 22-year-old Miguel Vargas who really…
I continue to read about the sensational LAD prospects. Mark has the Dodgers as a top 10 MiLB organization while no major publication does. After the loss of Keibert Ruiz and Jo Jo Gray, the publications dropped them to mid-level (around 15). Certainly not bad, but also not…
Rule 5 Draft This was written before the MLB lockout. The Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9. The Dodgers added James Outman, Jacob Amaya, Jorbit Vivas, Eddys Leonard and Michael Grove to the 40-man roster to protect them from the draft. Last Year pitchers Brett…
Now that the WS is over, the MLB calendar is set (maybe). Maybe because we have no idea what will become of the CBA after the current CBA expires on 12-1. Tentatively, the MLB dates: November 3 – 160 players were declared Free Agents. The Dodgers have 11. November 3 – 7 – Free…
I may not always be the sharpest knife in the drawer but I tend to stay with things until I figure them out and I think I have finally figured out why so many fans have an irrational hatred of Dave Roberts. It took me a while to identfy it and maybe you have not yet identified it either. However, once you understand what I am about to say, I
First, to Badger. I love trade scenarios. I do not care how outlandish they are or how realistic they may be. I enjoy reading Bums trade proposals. I am not sure that I ever read one that was realistic, but they are fun. Bluto sometimes gives us scenarios from the baseballtradevalues.com site. They are fun for me. That is what blogs are for. Throw out ideas. To the best of
As every semi-lucid baseball fan knows, next week is the 91st MLB All Star game. The results are close with the AL winning 45 games, NL winning 43 games with 2 ties. The AL has runs scored 373 runs and the NL has scored 370 runs. The AL is currently riding a 7 game winning streak. But that is not the only MLB event that is happening next week, and
Kershaw was OK last night, and the bullpen did their job, but the hitters failed to deliver in the clutch. The Dodgers had 8 hits and 5 walks, compared to the Padres 4 hits and 3 walks. I guess this loss is on Doc, because if Austin Barnes had started, he might have won it with 4th HR. Instead Doc started that bum, Will Smith.
It has been a long time since I have felt a desire to write. I am hoping that I can at least finish this one. I have been trying to finish a certain blog post that I started last March, but have not been able to do so. I was able to write a somewhat complete email to Harold (DC) last week, and responded to two very close friends last
As you watch this here 2021 version of the Dodgers, you realize that there are just some days when everyone (or almost everyone) is just sleep-walking and are flatter than pancakes. Sunday was one of those days. I mean when 86-year-old Albert Pujols is your only offense, you have to be flatter than pancakes. The Dodgers need a Kirk Gibson someone who will step up and call his teammates out .
Maybe Monday s comeback win and Kenley Jansen s dominant save was what the Dodgers needed to turn around their sinking ship. Last night, the Dodgers won 7-1 behind a dominant seven innings by Julio Urias and 6 up and 6 down by Jimmy Nelson, who is now taking to the bullpen like a fish takes to water. It s not going to be all fairy dust and ponies right away, but you
The Spring is three games in, and to draw any conclusions would be foolhardy. But I still have some observations from what I have seen thus far. For the first three games, the pitching has been outstanding. Albeit, without Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, Oakland’s offense is just north of woeful, as is Colorado without Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. The Giants did not play but a couple of regulars .
NOTE: Jeff knew what I was going to lead off with today! 😉 Yes, I know it is early, but the best thing I saw all game yesterday and I saw a lot of good things, was Michael Grove s pitching! I wish there was a radar gun, but his stuff looked great. He has an arsenal of pitches and showed an excellent feel. I have always thought he would be
I wonder if the Dodgers could lure Vin Scully back to do a few games this year? It might give him some solace and joy and allow him some time away from his grief. It would also overjoy Dodger fans just to hear him one last time: Everyone processes grief differently, so it may be out of the question or well within reason. At any rate, it s just an idea
