69 posts
Of course, that is a generalization that is not always true, but it is true enough of the time that I am concerned. Last night, the Dodgers scored 11 runs on 20 hits. Betts and Smith had 4 hits each, while Ohtani and Pages had 3 each. Muncy and Lux had two each. It was quite an…
When the players pitch and get hits, the manager looks like a genius. Torey Lovello looked the part last night as Merrill Kelly looked like Cy Young. In what can only be called an epic game, Kelly went seven innings, allowing three hits, one run and striking out nine. This was a…
I like to break things down to their simplest form, and here is why the Dodgers were swept in the NLDS: They could not score more than two runs a game. In 162 games, the Dodgers averaged 5.6 runs a game, but in this three-game series, they scored just two runs a game. They were…
I see similarities between Jason Heyward and players like Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney, Thor, JDM, and others. Anderson and Heaney came to the Dodgers hoping that the Dodgers could “fix” them. JDM didn’t come to the Dodgers to get “fixed…” maybe to get better, but in the past…
The Dodgers are coming off of one of the all-time great seasons in the history of Major League Baseball. Only the 1906 Cubs had a season in the Senior Circuit with more wins and only 4 teams have ever matched or exceeded 111 wins. There’s no doubt about it, last year’s team was…
I have been away for a long while and will return to posting a piece now and then, now that I start this new phase in life called “retirement.” Some random Dodger bullets running through my mind. Friday, July 29th – Last Day before Retirement As disappointed as many fans are…
Why can’t the Dodgers just win every game? Come on, at the rate they are going; they will only win 109 games! That is unacceptable! I had them winning 162. Man, was I off! A lot of us feel that way… even if we don’t admit it, but I am elated that the Dodgers have the record that…
OK, so what? Yeah, it’s hard to play baseball in the major leagues. Let me take it a step farther, who here could have played AAA baseball? AA Baseball? A Baseball? Rookie League Baseball? I am sure some will say they could have, but unless you did, you really don’t know. You…
Please excuse the timing of this post. It was written early last week, however I was rushed to the ER with what turned out to be a TIA or mini stroke. I was in the hospital being pricked and probed for nearly three days, but came away with a clean bill of health. So now I am…
There are a lot of new commenters here since I first started writing for LADT in 2017, and I guess many do not know who I am. I will admit that this post is really out of my comfort zone. But I have been advised to push the comfort zone for better mental health. The other day, Mark intimated that I may have more contacts now than him. I have
It might be hard for some to believe, but prior to 1977 the position of Hitting coach as such did not exist. The first hitting coach with that title was Jim Gilliam. There have been 18 since. Before that time, players did not have a specific person to go to. All of these guys had varying degrees of experience. Some, including Gilliam, Mattingly, McGwire. Wallack, Reggie Smith, Jack Clark, Mota,
I wonder if the Dodgers could lure Vin Scully back to do a few games this year? It might give him some solace and joy and allow him some time away from his grief. It would also overjoy Dodger fans just to hear him one last time: Everyone processes grief differently, so it may be out of the question or well within reason. At any rate, it s just an idea
I’m writing this on Friday morning, basking in the joy of the Dodgers 11-2 thumping of the Padres and thought I would share some random thoughts from my recliner: ● Until last night’s game, this year’s Dodgers just haven’t been as fun for me to watch as teams in the past. In “summer camp” it looked as if though they would be invincible. Once the season started though, and even
I wrote this before Game three in partial response to MT’s comments. With the way my year is going, the Dodgers will win 25-0, Belli will go 7-7 with 4 HRs, and the team will go 15-15 WRISP. Update – Well not quite as good as described above, Wednesday’s game had some definite positives. The Dodgers actually used two bunts to put the team in a position to score two
Tradewinds Are Brewing… This Dodger team for 2020 is the deepest in major league history and has no obvious holes. Cut to the chase: I think it s time to make another trade like the Salary Dump to the Reds whereby the Dodgers ended up with Jo Jo Gray, Mookie Bettes and David Price. Well, that wasn t exactly the trade, but it was effectively the trade as Jeter Downs was a
Time for Dodger Baseball. I like the sound of that as we begin Spring Training games today against the hated Giants. We all know ST games are meaningless in wins and losses, but I still want to see a win in every game. If you compete, compete to win. Before I get into ST, I want to offer my response to the apparent skepticism about the Dodger pitching. Are there
One of the many definitions of an iconoclast is someone who strongly opposes generally accepted beliefs and traditions. Some people think inside the box. Others think outside the box. I prefer to think there is no box. I am an iconoclast. I readily admit it and even embrace it. While the entire Dodger Fandom was attacking Andrew Freidman (pick a day any day), I was embracing his tactics. I still
In 1988, the Dodgers won the World Series with a rag-tag bunch of bench players, junkyard dogs, and stuntmen, including Mickey Hatcher, Rick Dempsey, Mike Davis, Danny Heep, and Dave Anderson. The bench was important to the last world championship and I believe that this year s bench is immensely better. Hey, these guys aren t starters, but many of them would be starters on other teams. Due to arbitration and the
Rich Hill won the 2019 Tony Conigliaro Award, becoming the first Dodger to do so. The award has been given out every year since 1990 to a Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony Conigliaro. Rich Hill is a worthy recipient and I hope he will accept a reasonable one-year incentive-laden deal. Rich Hill exemplifies what power the
Most people have a great deal of difficulty thinking outside of the box. In most cases, the box is just a wall they have built around their minds. The past couple of days I have read some really dumb stuff from people I think are very smart, but somehow, when it comes to the Dodgers, they take out their brains, set them on the dresser and come to comment on
Yesterday, Bleacher Report had a piece where they published the 2020 World Series Odds and again, the Dodgers and Astros are 1-2 in the oddsmaker s eyes to win the World Series. However, right about now, you would think that the Dodgers are some sort of bottom-dweller, second-rate team if you happen to listen to the fans. What happened in the World Series should only reinforce how hard it is to
Frankly, I am a person who believes that conventional wisdom is usually wrong. That leads me to look at things some people don t notice and see things that they don t. It s not a science more of an art that has to be continually refined. When many investors are buying, I may be selling and when they are selling, I am looking to buy. Like anyone, I am not always right,
This past regular season, the Washington Nationals had the worst bullpen in baseball. Out of 30 MLB teams, they were #30 in ERA at 5.66. MLB average was 4.43 and the Dodgers were #4 in MLB in ERA. The Nationals bullpen was also worst in baseball allowing hitters a .266 batting average. To say that their bullpen was horrible would be kind. Yet, here they are on the way to
One of the many female artists (and trust there were many) on whom I had a boyhood crush, was the great country-western singer, Skeeter Davis. I loved her name, I mean how could you not love the name Skeeter? After reading some of the comments on Saturday and Sunday, I was reminded of her and her biggest hit song “The End of the World”, which goes in part(with apologies to
It may seem like last night s loss added some games to the number of games the Dodgers have to win, but it s still the same. What shocks me is how some people absolutely lose their minds in a game like that. If you look at the boxscore, Kershaw doesn t look great, but it s not bad: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K s. If you watched the game,
It all comes down to that, insofar as the Dodger players are concerned. Nothing less than 10 more wins will satisfy them. They want that World championship. It s just that simple. That s the goal and that s is all they are focused on. So, it was no surprise to see the Dodgers show up with their lunch pails and systematically dismantle the Nationals pitching. It was also no surprise to see
Most often when I attempt to communicate the concept of time with my younger grandchildren, I talk in terms of “sleeps.” “Three more sleeps and I’ll be there, or 2 more sleeps and I go home.” We’re at that stage of the season, where we can communicate similarly about the Dodgers. 11 more wins, and we enjoy the parade!! Last year, we were flat out overmatched by the Red Sox.
Last night s bullpen was excellent . except for the closer, who coughed up another hairball. All season long there has been an ongoing discussion about what many fans perceive is the Dodgers glaring weakness the bullpen. Since Spring Training, I have consistently said that I had no problem with the Dodger Bullpen and I have repeatedly said that The Bullpen you see now, will not be the bullpen you see in
Jedd Gyorko will likely make his Dodger debut this weekend in the ATL. In case you don t know, he plays every infield position and has logged one game in LF and two at pitcher. At 5 10 and 215 pounds he is best suited for 2B or 3B. At best, he is a utilityman and I am sure the Dodgers hope he is someone who could benefit from the Robert
OK, you want to be all in? Let s go dream: The Mets trade Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndegard and Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers for Keibert Ruiz, Tony Gonsolin, Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson. Maybe there is one more piece It s a salary dump for the Mets and the Dodgers save some prospects, including May in the deal. I really like Tony Gonsolin, but Dustin May is a player I would
