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 analytics now run baseball, and if you don’t think that is true, you probably believe in the Tooth…
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 everything is beautiful in Dodgertown, but it is looking better. Houston Mitchell said it best: My name is Houston Mitchell, and…
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… especially left-handed relief pitchers. Many Dodger fans wanted to trade the farm (Vargas, Pages, Busch, Frasso, et al) for David Bednar of…
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 Friedman’s past history, you will see that he rarely gives out long-term contacts – Mookie Betts was the lone exception….
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 than any other team and already are a marketing dynamo. I seriously doubt that signing Ohtani will improve the bottom line….
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 me to believe that he could gain another 1-2 MPH in the next ten days….
… 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 statistics indicate. While Clayton Kershaw was younger, he pitched 108 innings as a rookie and allowed 109 hits; he walked…
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 them all you want – they just play baseball, and a 1-2-3 punch of Webb, Cobb, and…
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 writes this: Thor still struggling to regain his thunder With diminished velo, Syndergaard has seen ERA soar to…
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! Gavin Stone saw his first action and struck out 2 in his one-inning pitched. I keep telling everyone… Will Smith…