16 posts
The simple way to blame someone for last night’s debacle ‘er, loss, is to say it was on Dave Roberts for starting Chris Taylor at 3B after Max Muncy’s big night. However, that would be short-sighted as well. Max has not fared well against Alex Wood – having just one hit in 9…
Yawn! The Dodgers can’t win. Milwaukee can’t lose. Neither can KC. I guess it is time to throw in the towel… unless Spring Training Records don’t mean anything… because they don’t! I have always said that your Spring Training record means nothing, but you can observe the “…
Much has been written about the slow start of Gavin Lux’s MLB career. Mostly by impatient fans. Fans get excited about players when they read stat pages, and claim them to be a can’t miss player. Many are now talking about Andy Pages, Eddys Leonard, Miguel Vargas, Ryan Pepiot…
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
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 .
One of the things I enjoy most about spring training is the opportunity to watch the kids play. Even though there is little chance of them breaking camp with the Dodgers, how exciting it must be for them to be able to pitch and play alongside the veterans. In no particular order, Jo Jo Gray, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Andre Jackson, Michael Grove, Miguel Vargas, Jacob Amaya, Michael Busch, Kody Hoese, James Outman, Andy Pages, Devin Mann, Omar Estevez, Nick Robertson, Ryan Pepiot, Gus Varland,
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 .
Today is the day that pitchers and catchers are due to report to Camelback Ranch for the Dodgers. Tomorrow is the first day of workouts. Full squad reports February 22, with the first full squad workout scheduled for February 23. The Dodgers play their first spring training game on Sunday, February 28 against the Oakland A’s at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. There will be some rules in effect that
A couple of weeks ago Jeff asked if I would do a brief write-up on two Dodger prospects Nick Robertson and James Outman. I had previously profiled Robertson so that one was easy with an update. Today I took a look at Outman and found there was not a lot of detail available on him. I do remember him quite well in his time with the Great Lakes Loons
The Dodgers 2019 draft was perhaps an unusual one in that they targeted college relief pitchers. I don’t think the plan is to transform them into starters but more so to continue their present path. Relief pitching is the fastest way to MLB unless one is a budding superstar and relief pitchers most certainly are in demand. Why not develop your own and in due course have a stable of
Dodger fans are no different than other teams’ fans. They read what team personnel say about their prospects and build them up to be can’t miss. I like to watch them play, see videos, and read from objective baseball pundits. Baseball America is that kind of publication. In short scouting reports, they tell the fan all they want to hear. But in chats, the pundits can be more objective. Kyle
While reviewing the list of LAD pitchers, the Dodgers have 66 pitchers currently in their organization. Per Fangraph’s Roster Resource the breakdown is as follows: MLB Starting Pitchers (5) MLB Relief Pitchers (9) MiLB Starting Pitchers (34) – 9 Rule 5 Eligible MiLB Relief Pitchers (18) – 13 Rule 5 Eligible With the pending MiLB contraction, those numbers are obviously going to decrease. Many of these pitchers are organizational depth,
Before I got sidetracked with the spring training heroics of Cody Thomas and Zach McKinstry, I had been providing a thumbnail sketch of the relief pitchers the Dodgers had signed in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. Those profiles included Logan Boyer, Jacob Cantleberry, Jeff Belge, Nick Robertson, and Alec Gamboa as well as Ryan Pepiot whom I think will start the 2020 season in a starting role. There are still
One thing that I have come to realize is that when AF and the other Dodger baseball FO personnel determine that there is a weakness in their organization, they address it head on. Most everyone has come to realize that the current Dodgers have a significant weakness in their bullpen, and they went full on in last year’s draft. I know DC is working his way through the recently drafted
The MLB draft has come and gone, and the draft talent evaluators have opined that the Dodgers had a top 5 draft. This year’s draft pool was not considered very good, but the Dodgers were able to draft for value and need. The Dodgers are getting good at finding value in the low order they pick from. They even picked up a top potential HS draft pick in SS/3B Brennan
