16 posts
Halfway through the year and some things are clear, while others, not so much. The Dodgers are clearly the class of the NL if not all of MLB. The Dodgers are 3.5 games better than the Cubs and 4.0 games better than the Padres. If the season were to end today, the three division champions would be: Dodgers Cubs Braves 2nd Place Teams would be: Padres Cardinals Marlins Current Wild
Intrasquad games and the exhibition season has come to an end. The results have been generally positive. The offense seems to be working on all cylinders. They are working the count, fouling off pitches, and attacking mistakes. During these games, they have shown they CAN BE a good two strike hitting team. They are going the other way with so much consistency that it is not a mistake. Some are
I cannot see the Dodgers signing Josh Donaldson. He reportedly has two pending four year deals (Twins and Washington). But the Braves have right of last refusal (meaning that is where he wants to play), but they are going to need to guarantee that 4th year, which they are contemplating right now. There is no reason for the Dodgers to continue to chase their tails here. JT is a quality
As we are getting ready to see who the Dodgers first opponent will be in the post season, it is extremely difficult for me to consume any negativity ascribed to the Dodgers after this season. No conditional statements…they were great. The best team in LA Dodgers history. I say LA Dodgers because the 1953 team that 105, did so with 8 less games. I still read from some how bad
A few days ago, Bluto posed the following: “I mean if you are evaluating players from a far then you have to be down on prospects when they fare poorly. But what’s the difference between being down and writing off? And what does writing off mean? Does it mean moving down in the prospect list? Or removing altogether?” I am sure that my opinion of “being down” vs. writing off
While the Dodgers have two first round picks and 3 picks in the first 78 selections on Monday, the DBacks can go a long way to re-establish themselves with this draft. The DBacks own seven of the first 75 selections this year: their regular picks in the first (No. 16 overall) and second (No. 56) rounds, a compensation first-rounder (No. 26) for failing to sign 2018 first-rounder Matt McLain, two
Pundits can spin it anyway they want, but the DBacks suffered huge losses this offseason. Patrick Corbin signed a big 6 year $140MM contract with the Nationals, AJ Pollock signed a 5 year $60MM contract with LAD, and all-world 1B Paul Goldschmidt was traded to the Cards. So three teams that figured to be in contention anyway picked up the DBacks top 3 players. How does a team that won
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
Okay, I am done arguing with people on this or any other baseball site about corporate finance, which happens to be a subject I am very well-versed in. But that is different than knowledge of the Dodgers balance sheet of which I have none. So, let’s move on. I am writing this in an El Dorado Hills Starbucks at about 1:30 PM. So this may not be current by
One day until the Winter Meetings, and I was trying to come up with something clever to say that has not already been speculated and discussed 100 times already. Since there has been a lot of speculation that the Dodgers have unlimited funds, I thought that I would look to see where all of the teams are in relationship to the CBT threshold of $206MM. This is a dynamic chart
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
What are the Dodgers needs going into the 2019 season? We know they need a catcher. I discussed that in great length yesterday. I think they need a 2B other than CT3 or Kike’, but I know I am in the minority. I think the Dodgers need a leadoff batter. That is really not what Alex Verdugo does, but he seems the most logical…if he makes the squad, and there
There are currently 38 Dodgers on the 40-man roster without consideration of either Yasmani Grandal or Hyun-jin Ryu accepting their respective QO. With the current makeup, the Dodgers will have a salary total of nearly $179MM or approximately $27MM under the 2019 competitive balance tax threshold. We will all know no later than Monday, November 8 at 2:00 PM PT if either accept. Assuming they do not accept, below is
It was actually an encouraging game for the Dodgers as a team. CT3 got on base on 4 of his plate appearances. Plus he actually got a stolen base. Puig had a 3 hit night. The Dodgers actually got a sac fly. After the third inning they stopped chasing Corbin’s slider and worked him to where he was gone after 5. Baez is proving to be a good low leverage
What do the Dodgers do now? Personnel wise – NOTHING . FAZ needs rely on what they have developed. They have shortstops that can play at the ML level, although certainly not at the Corey Seager level. Other than Francisco Lindor or Carlos Correa, there is no other comparable SS. There is absolutely no reason to make a trade for a rental like Manny Machado. But let’s be realistic .
Okay now that Yu Darvish is signed, sealed, and delivered to the Chicago Cubs, who is the next domino to fall? 21 of the top 50 are still unsigned, and 6 of the top ten. Interestingly, 5 of those 6 are represented by Scott Boras (JDM, Hosmer, Arrieta, Moustakas, and Holland). Is it collusion, or is it anti Scott Boras? So what does that mean for the Dodgers? The
