I want to address a few issues today. Yasmani Grandal The Front Office and Sabermetrics Calling players Choke Artists Yasmani Grandal When the Dodgers acquired Yasmani for Matt Kemp, I thought it was a great trade for the obvious reasons: (1) It was a salary dump that needed to be made; and (2) I thought Yasmani Grandal would be an All-Star Catcher who was capable of 30-35 HR a year. …
Turns out, it WAS a train! Be careful what you wish for (Kenley Jansen) – you might get it! Kenley sure has had some dramatic losses for us this year. I blame his Doctors – they said he could pitch. It was obvious he could not! Malpractice is what it was! According to Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com, Jansen may have been too amped up: Jansen said he was so excited…
Most of you probably don’t believe it, because the Dodger bullpen has been awful many times during this season, but it went from awful to deplorable when Daniel Hudson, Ross Stripling and Kenley Jansen went down. Of course, Kenley was the biggest loss and there’s no way to replace him. That will likely come to an end tonight as if Kenley is approved by his Doctors to play again. In…
2018 has been a season full of challenges and in no small part, the challenges were created initially by the decision the Dodgers made (and still denied by them) to not exceed the Luxury Tax Threshold (“LTT”). Many fans don’t agree with the decision, but on every level, except my RFL (“Rabid Fan Level”), I agree with it. I actually thought they would get below it in 2017, but it…
That the Dodgers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory is obvious. However, the implosion of the bullpen (Chaggy in particular) is a symptom, not the disease. The symptom manifests itself when the disease is active. The disease is “FailureToScoreRunsItis.” Last night, Dodger hitters left 12 runners stranded (combined). At the trade deadline, FAZ acquired two of the biggest bats on the market in Machado and Dozier. Add in a…
I am just going to say it, even if it costs me my media access… wait, I don’t have media access anymore, so here goes: Dave Roberts is dumber than a bag of hammers if he left Pedro Baez in to allow 5 runners to get on base and all score. Even Ray Charles could see that Baez was a “deer in the headlights.” We all knew what was going to happen. …
It has been reported that Dave Roberts told Brain Dozier he would not play everyday… and in the truest sense of the word, that may be true. He may get a day off now and again, but there’s no way Doc is not writing his name in permanent marker on the lineup card. Where he hits in the order is the only thing up for debate. You can make a…
Just a couple of years ago at age 18, Julio Urias was the Dodgers Top Prospect. He was off-limits in any trade discussions. He was the heir apparent to Clayton Kershaw as the Dodgers Ace. As a rookie, he was much better than Clayton – not even up for debate! The Dodgers handled him with kid gloves… and then the unthinkable happened. He was injured and had anterior capsule surgery…
Maybe this is what happens at the trade deadline: Rotoworld Injury Updates Hyun-Jin Ryu (groin) pitched two innings in a simulated game on Wednesday. Next up is a three-inning simulated appearance Saturday in Los Angeles. The left-hander will likely begin a minor league rehab assignment after that. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Julio Urias (shoulder) is a serious candidate to work out of the club’s bullpen down the…
The Dodgers have lost two in a row, but the sky is not falling. They will stay the course and they will win the NL West. Nobody is dead. This too shall pass! Must I keep reminding you? Of greater concern to me at this juncture is… WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED TO LOGAN FORSYTHE AND AUSTIN BARNES? I must say that it irks me when people who have never…