23 posts
Dave Robert’s selection to start Julio Urias in Game one of the NLDS was a landmark decision that essentially told the world that he had supplanted Clayton Kershaw as the ace of the staff. This was no slight to Kershaw, who continues to thrive as a Dodger starter and will…
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region…
Jim Brewer LHP Chicago Cubs On December 13, 1963, the Chicago Cubs, looking for a RHP, traded Jim Brewer and C Cuno Barragan to the Dodgers for Dick Scott. The trade would be very one-sided in the Dodger’s favor even though Barragan never played a single game in L.A. Scott spent…
On November 15, I started to write about the impatience some fans have with Gavin Lux, and it imploded into an overall generalization about many fans seeing MiLB stats and believing that those numbers will automatically translate to MLB numbers. And then when they do not, then…
Have you ever seen a player and thought to yourself, this guy is going to be a huge star? Outfielder Mike Marshall was that for me. Mike was born on January 12, 1960, in Libertyville, Illinois. He graduated from Buffalo Grove High School. Mike was drafted by the Dodgers in the…
On April 3rd, 1974, the Dodgers traded pitcher Bruce Ellingsen to the Cleveland Indians for 17-year-old Pedro Guerrero. The Indians were desperate for pitching. It would turn out to be one of the most lopsided one-for-one trades ever. Guerrero went to Orangeburg in the Western Carolina League to start and played 19 games there before moving on to low A Bellingham where in 82 games he hit .316. Over the
Since the deadline is just a few days away, I thought it might be fun to look back on some of the trades the Dodgers have made over the years. Some were significant in helping the team win, others, well they just were not all that good or popular. Winter: 1958 On the 4th of December, the Dodgers sent Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals for OF Wally Moon and P
Basking in the glow of a World Championship and with labor strife behind them, the Dodgers came to spring training with hopes of doing it again. Of course there had been some changes over the winter as Davey Lopes was traded to the A s. Lopes had only played 58 games in 81. 4 of the 8 starters were in their 30 s. Garvey, Cey, Baker and Russell. Rookie Steve Sax
I am limiting this to L.A. Dodgers history simply to keep it from being more than a post long. We shall travel in our way back machine to 1958 when they traded Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals for Wally Moon. Cimoli had a nice career without being a big star. He ended up playing for 6 more teams over the last 8 seasons of his career. Moon, who became so
This is a follow up to the best that have ever played in my estimation. Some I never saw. Others I saw many times. It will consist of the starting 8, a pitching staff of 12 and the bench players. Not an easy thing to do. Starters 1st Base Easiest pick for me. Gil Hodges. 370 lifetime homers as a Dodger First to win the Gold Glove when they were
If you want a sure fire way to start an argument, just pick the best players ever for your team. Everyone has their own ideas of who are the greatest players in a team s history. And the Dodgers have a long and colorful past. 67 years in Brooklyn as a part of MLB, and 62 in LA. So, choosing the best ever is a hard task. In this case, I
Peter O Malley was born on the 12th of December 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. We all know who his parents were. He spent his childhood as a child of privilege. His dad s success allowing the family comforts many of the citizens did not enjoy due to the depression. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. And then from the Wharton School of Business in 1960. Peter s first job with the
One thing I have learned is that AF is tight lipped more than anyone in MLB, and so are his co-working baseball personnel. So for someone like Jim Bowden to intimate that he has spoken with Dodgers personnel who have advised him that AF has been engaged in talks with Rockies GM, Jeff Bridich, about Nolan Arenado, I have my doubts. He did not stop there. He said that Nolan
Just like every other fan, I have my favorites. I believe I have been more than obvious that Corey Seager has been my favorite Dodger since he was drafted. I also have jerseys for current Dodgers, Kershaw, Buehler, Bellinger, Turner, and Wood. I love the stars, but I am also partial to those who are more role players and not top of the rotation pitchers. The angst I feel with
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
As fans, we all know the stars of our teams, and today with the internet and all the media coverage, we know the rookies, the scrub beanies, and just about everyone else in the organization. Growing up, and learning the game, that was not the case. We found out in box scores, and those of us lucky enough to have a subscription, in the Sporting News. But for every star player, there was
In 1961, 21 year old local boy, Willie Davis became the Dodger’s starting center fielder. He was to become the replacement for the great Duke Snider, beating out among others the legendary Don Demeter :-). I was 10 years old at the time. Being the gawky string bean kid that I was, I had no real idea of the concept of “cool.” Even though I didn’t know what “cool” was,
When I coached youth baseball and at the high school level, travel baseball and specialized training weren’t as readily available as is it is today. We had materials and videos written by Tom House, including the “Winning Pitcher”, “Power Baseball”(written with Coop De Renne) and of course Nolan Ryan’s “Pitcher’s Bible”. For hitters, you had Charlie Lau’s “The Art of Hitting .300 and“A Hitting Clinic: The Walt Hriniak Way”. Of
It has been widely published that the Dodgers are 31 years between World Series Championships. All Dodger fans want to forget that, but what if…I know it sounds like the Kratt Brothers. For those with small children or grandchildren you probably know Wild Kratts. Brooklyn was nine World Series and lost their first seven: 1916 and 1920 (as The Robins – managed by Wilbert Robinson) and did not return for
Mark and I don’t always agree on everything Blue, although I think we are pretty consistent from a Macro view. But when it comes to the bullpen, Mark and I just do not see eye to eye. I have been a relief pitcher wonk since 1959 and Larry Sherry. Clem Labine would have been my favorite Dodger in the mid 50’s. I am not going to go through the history
There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the game with respect to Home Runs and Strikeouts. Many of us remember when hitting wasn’t so much hit or miss as it is today, and for many of us remember the game was more enjoyable when teams were “producing” runs. But the HR has always been the attention grabber. The first and arguably the most prodigious HR hitter
Last week DC discussed a Dodger reliever from every level in the organization. Every reliever on that list has the potential to be at least a MLB middle reliever. Some may become high leverage relievers. Zach Pop was certainly drafted last year for just that reason. One other that I started to follow last year in the DSL was Elio Serrano, who could be special. But at 19 he has
The article Mark referred to in the previous post is a continuous reminder as to how Giancarlo Stanton has energized the 2017 Hot Stove League. Ned Colletti would have absolutely been in the middle of the discussions. It is little wonder that a baseball exec like Dave Dombrowski is highly motivated. Dombrowski has not met a large contract challenge that he has shied away from yet. John Mozeliak had been
