Just a few notes today. Following some of the amazing posts in the past few days, I indeed feel somewhat like a little leaguer as my writing is solely focused on the minor leagues and naturally cannot lead to much discussion. However, little league provided me with some of my best long-term memories, way back in the early fifties. Minor league ball keeps me somewhat in touch with those memories…
Dave Roberts Many of you wonder why Dave Roberts does certain things, like oh… hit Chris Taylor #3? Some fans almost become enraged when he does such things. Why on earth would he have old man David Freese bat leadoff? Kike Hernandez #5? Why, oh why? Well, simply stated, it’s because you are playing checkers and he is playing chess. He’s about 6 moves ahead of you. You are thinking…
It’s amazing to me that after 25 games, fans can pronounce a certain player or players as “failures.” If they are really that good, they should be making millions helping teams make those decisions. If they happen to not be making millions for those decisions, then maybe they really aren’t as qualified as they believe. If they bench guys like Taylor, Hernandez, Barnes, et al, how are they ever going…
On Saturday, AC had an amazing summary of the Dodgers minor league middle infielders. Two players that were mentioned that have not drawn a lot of attention are third baseman Brandon Montgomery and shortstop Zach McKinstry. Actually their listed position is in name only as they have played at a number of positions during their minor league careers. These guys are among the many foot soldiers in minor league baseball….
I would not have re-signed Kenley Jansen and I said so at the time. It’s not that I don’t like him, but he is fully capable of blowing a game and he’s expensive. Let me remind you that the Astros won the World Series without a good dominant closer. It surprised me that FAZ re-signed Kenley, but they did. Maybe they HAD to re-sign him for the fans… who knows?…
We now know who comprises the 25 man roster. Is it what I would have chosen? Probably not, but I do understand the reasons for the selections. I was disappointed that Chris Taylor was not selected, but I understand why Kike’ was valued more as utility player. I understand that Taylor is an infielder that needs to learn OF. If Seager goes on the DL, it will not be Kike’…