End of an Era?

November 8, 2021

Well, let the bidding begin.  A number of publications have put out their top 50 Free Agents list.  MLBTR is one of my favorites to follow.  They are no better with their prognostications than are any other publication.  They run contests every year, and many of the readers have turned out better with picks than the writers.  One year I got 12 out of 50.  Not bad, but there were…

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My Current Dodger Observations

July 25, 2021

First, to Badger.  I love trade scenarios.  I do not care how outlandish they are or how realistic they may be.  I enjoy reading Bums trade proposals.  I am not sure that I ever read one that was realistic, but they are fun.  Bluto sometimes gives us scenarios from the baseballtradevalues.com site.  They are fun for me.  That is what blogs are for.  Throw out ideas.  To the best of…

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Wheelin’ and Dealin’

July 23, 2021

Earlier in the week, there was a little difference in opinion with respect to the Billy McKinney acquisition.   I continue to read how porous LAD’s defense is, and with a gimpy Mookie Betts who may need late-inning defensive help to get him off his hip, a slowing AJ Pollock, questionable defense of Matt Beaty, and the need for CT3 to spend more time in the infield, AF went out and…

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2021 Hot Stove League ???

December 28, 2020

Editorial Comment – This post was written prior to the Blake Snell acquisition by the Padres. The longer this offseason goes without much movement, the more likely AF is going to get involved. The number of teams that want to jettison payroll is growing  and is undoubtedly going to pique the interest of teams like LAD.  While it will stress out fans who continually want to see something happen to…

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Financing in MLB

December 20, 2020

The financing of a baseball season is going under the microscope this offseason and potentially into next season.  There is no question that MLB lost several billion in revenues. According to Forbes’ estimates from 2019, as gathered by the University of Michigan sports economist Rodney Fort, MLB teams made a total of $9.9 billion as follows: REVENUE (IN BILLIONS) UNDER… CATEGORY NORMAL SEASON HALF-SEASON W/O FANS* Gate receipts $2.84B $0.00B…

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How the Braves Got To the NLCS

October 11, 2020

Most believed that the Reds were going to be a very dangerous Wild Card team to face because of their starting pitching.  Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, and Sonny Gray.  The Braves never had to face Gray as they dispatched the Reds in two.  But it wasn’t easy.  The Braves needed to go 13 innings before Freddie Freeman had a walk off single to beat the Reds 1-0.  The Reds outhit…

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The Will Smith Era

July 28, 2019

The Will Smith era has officially begun.  In his first game as the primary catcher for the LAD, he caught Clayton Kershaw.  There were no noticeable miscommunications between the two.  Kersh got off to a rough start, but settled in nicely for still another QS.  Offensively, you could not ask for a better game.  3-3 with 2 doubles, a HR, sac fly, and 6 RBIs.  This new offensive threat for…

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Contract Extensions The New Free Agency?

March 30, 2019

It must have been painful for some of these free agents going through contract negotiations the last couple of years. Led by AF, most teams are not all that keen on signing over age players/pitchers to long term $100MM + deals, and the players’ agents are having a rough time talking their clientele into accepting a deal much less than what they originally believed would be available, but probably closer…

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Dodgers at a Crossroads

July 17, 2018

The Dodgers are at somewhat of a crossroads at the break.  They are in 1st place in the NL West and are 3.5 games behind the Cubs for supremacy in the NL.  They are 1.0 game behind the Brewers, .5 game behind the Phillies, and are virtually tied with the Braves in the very tight NL race.  There are 11 teams within 5.5 games of the Wild Card. The AL…

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Ginger Thor

March 22, 2018

A few days ago Mark suggested a trade in his column. The trade included a few Dodger prospects for right-handed reliever Raisel Iglesias of the Cincinnati Reds. Iglesias would be a valuable acquisition as the 28-year-old has had two consecutive very successful years with the Reds. Although I tend to be overly-protective of Dodger minor leaguers, I thought it might  indeed be a good trade with one exception. Mark included…

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