Play-Off Picture Although the minor league season has been extended to the third week in September the push for a very limited play-off spot will soon begin. Actually, the A and AA regular seasons end on September 19 with a five-game playoff between the two teams with the best winning percentage in the league regardless of their division. There are no playoffs at the AAA level but the regular schedule…
With Mark on the 10-day inactive list to attend to family business in Las Vegas (ever notice how these trips are never to Des Moines, Iowa or Wichita, Kansas?), Jeff (AC) was desperate for some assistance on the LADT writers roster. With his options limited, he had to resort to adding someone from the alternate training site, and had no choice but to call on me, the Zack Reks/Edwin Uceta…
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…
Earlier in the week, there was a little difference in opinion with respect to the Billy McKinney acquisition. I continue to read how porous LAD’s defense is, and with a gimpy Mookie Betts who may need late-inning defensive help to get him off his hip, a slowing AJ Pollock, questionable defense of Matt Beaty, and the need for CT3 to spend more time in the infield, AF went out and…
So next year, Robber Manfred’s Traveling Circus & JuJu Medicine Show will play the All-Star Game at Chavez Ravine. Alrighty then! Will Bellinger and Muncy both compete in the HR Derby? I can hardly wait. However, I am being sarcastic. I’ll leave it right there. The new MLB Power Rankings are out and the Giants at #1 with the Dodgers #2. The Giants com to the Ravine for four games…
Another rainy day and not great results in the minor league system yesterday. Well, that isn’t quite true. The nature of the day is not always decided by wins and losses. It is an individual game played in the context of a team game. Here is a bit about some individuals. Jake Vogel In Rancho Cucamonga 19-year-old Jake Vogel seems to have shaken off his early injury woes while having…
Rants & Raves What happened the past three games is unexplicable! This is baseball. We have seen this movie before. We can’t explain it… but it happens. I am just along for the ride. This is baseball. This is life. Everything is not always puppys and bunnys! Morality clauses have generally been held to be valid and enforceable as applied to high-profile figures, such as Trevor Bauer (California may be softer on this…
Who will go down next? That seems to be a broken record for this season. Hopefully, everyone gets healthy for the stretch run. Tonight, Trevor Bauer goes against the D-Bags in AZ. The Dodgers are 3rd in team ERA… within .06 of the Padres and .10 of the Mets. They are still #2 in starter ERA behind the Mets, but deGrom keeps breaking down (he’s older than Clayton) and it…
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…
I believe Urias will keep up his outstanding work and take lessons from his pounding by the Giants. Buehler to me is an enigma. He has some of the best stuff in the league, yet he has only 4 decisions. But I expect that to change. All in all, the team has underperformed according to the fans. I think with all the changes in the roster, the lack of the DH, injuries to very key players, and the underperformance of their catalyst, Mookie, the team has performed about as one would expect missing so many key pieces.