The Marketing of Players

November 29, 2020

This is the time of year when we hear that teams will be listening on potential trades for Player A.  However, most of the time those proclamations are simply rhetorical.  The Brewers have said they are willing to listen to offers for Josh Hader.  The Rays will be listening on offers for Blake Snell.  The Reds will be listening on offers for Sonny Gray.  The Cubs are listening on offers…

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First Round Possibilities

September 24, 2020

Our Boys in Blue have clinched yet another NL West Championship.  That streak has now reached 8, and is one behind 9 consecutive AL East Titles by NYY and 14 consecutive Divisional Titles by Atlanta. Out of the previous seven, the Dodgers have won two pennants, with no World Series Championships.  NYY’s streak was from 1998 through 2006.  The Yankees won five pennants and three consecutive World Series Championships for…

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WINNING UGLY, LOSING UGLY – WHO CARES?

September 15, 2020

Who the heck were those players wearing Dodger uniforms in the Rockies’ and D-backs’ series?   Whoever they were, they certainly did not perform like a playoff caliber team.   They struggled with pitching, struggled with hitting, and couldn’t play defense.  My, my, my, that’s typically a recipe for baseball disaster!!   Heaven forbid that team should have to play the mighty Padres in the playoffs.   The Dodgers may as well go home…

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THE ART OF THE WALK – – MEET JOHN “T-BONE” SHELBY

June 7, 2020

From the time they are “knee-high to a grasshopper”, young boys start day-dreaming about hitting that dramatic walk-off homer to win the game, playoffs or, even better yet, the World Series.  If it isn’t the a homerun, it’s a Doug Flutie “Hail Mary” type pass to win the game in the last seconds, or hitting nothing but net from half-court as time runs out.   We love the thought of being…

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THE PAIN OF THE MIKE PIAZZA TRADE

June 1, 2020

May 14, 1998 started as a very special day in my household.   It was my oldest son’s 18th birthday.  We had some special plans to celebrate his birthday, once he finished with his school day.  The big news of the day was that Frank Sinatra had died.  Sad news certainly, but not anything that affected our family in any significant way.   That afternoon, by the time I went to my…

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How Did Winter Trades Turn Out

June 30, 2019

When MT posted his Remember When post, it got me to thinking about trades. I have been obnoxiously opinionated in my zeal for at least one lock down late inning reliever and would prefer two. But I also know that there are NO GUARANTEES. The Darvish and Machado trades did not result in a WS championship, and they were good trades for the Dodgers. If the Dodgers got both Felipe…

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A Father and a AAAA Player

May 25, 2019

First, I want to say how appreciative my wife and I were with the kind words, thoughts, and prayers that were written last week. I say my wife, because she read them all to me while I was waiting for the next doctor to poke and prod. Suffice to say, I had a scare that has dissipated since my Tuesday ER visit. I had my last follow ups on Thursday…

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Revenues, CBT Threshold, and Luxury Tax

January 19, 2019

Yesterday Mark commented, “The fact that the Yankees went over the Luxury Tax Threshold does not mean the Dodgers should do the same. That, and the Yankees have no outside shareholders to revolt.  Hopefully you can understand that.”  Maybe it was or maybe it wasn’t, but I assumed that is directed at me since I brought up NYY exceeding the CBT threshold.  I want to be clear.  I never said…

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Different Perspectives

January 12, 2019

Editorial Note – This was written before the massive Russell Martin deal went down, and I did not want to consider this post to be like Kemp, Puig, Wood, and Farmer and just dump it.   The written word is a strange thing.  One reader will read comments one way and another reader another way, and yet the writer had a totally different reason for the comment. The most recent…

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Collusion or Just Frugal and Prudent

December 2, 2018

So far, this year is beginning to mimic last year a bit. There has been some movement, but it is for the lesser thought of FA or in one case a player who wants a bigger pay day next year (Josh Donaldson).   It seems that a lot of teams are looking for the trade route first before even considering a high cost FA. Look for Harper and Machado to…

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