Dodgers and Braves NLCS Preview

October 12, 2020

Today, the Dodgers face off against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the 2020 NLCS.  The Dodgers have never faced the Braves for the pennant before.  They have faced each other three times in Divisional Series play. 1996 NLDS – Dodgers lost to Atlanta 3 games to 0 2013 NLDS – Dodgers beat Atlanta 3 games to 1 2018 NLDS – Dodgers beat Atlanta 3 games to 1 Before…

Read More >>

First Round Possibilities

September 24, 2020

Our Boys in Blue have clinched yet another NL West Championship.  That streak has now reached 8, and is one behind 9 consecutive AL East Titles by NYY and 14 consecutive Divisional Titles by Atlanta. Out of the previous seven, the Dodgers have won two pennants, with no World Series Championships.  NYY’s streak was from 1998 through 2006.  The Yankees won five pennants and three consecutive World Series Championships for…

Read More >>

MLB Top Prospects

February 15, 2020

While I favor LAD farmhands and follow them closely, I am a fan of MiLB baseball period. I scour through the top publications to see what prospects the Dodgers might have some interest in, or in my opinion should have interest in. The top three baseball publications have all reported their top 100 prospects and the Dodgers are prominent in all three. Their least representative publication is MLB Pipeline (MLB)…

Read More >>

MY RANDOM THOUGHTS ON – THE WINTER MEETINGS ARE OVER – NOW WHAT?

December 15, 2019

●Mercifully, the winter meetings are over. Lot’s of questions unanswered, but the main one for me is: Now what? As I wrote few weeks back, keep her steady as she goes. Also, remember, it was December 21, 2018, when the Dodgers surprised us with the Kyle Farmer trade. There’s lots of time between now and the start of spring training. ● It looks like Pedro Moura, of the Athletic, was…

Read More >>

Mismanaged Bullpens in Playoffs

October 28, 2019

Yesterday’s article from 2D2 inspired the reincarnation of an article I have been toying with for a bit. I am not adverse to Doc or a big advocate.  He is a good communicator and his team loves him.  But he is not the best in-game manager, and the mistakes he does make (as every manager does) gets blown up because of when they happen.  Game 2 of the 2017 WS…

Read More >>

A Case For Ross Stripling

August 18, 2019

Let me preface this by unequivocally stipulating that I believe that Dustin May has a much higher ceiling than does Ross Stripling. Dustin May has had a great start, but has not yet faced any good offensive teams to establish his 2019 bona fides. May is a career starting pitcher and a sudden move to the bullpen could prove to be as problematic as it was for Walker Buehler. I…

Read More >>

The Bullpen Conundrum Response

June 22, 2019

Mark and I don’t always agree on everything Blue, although I think we are pretty consistent from a Macro view. But when it comes to the bullpen, Mark and I just do not see eye to eye. I have been a relief pitcher wonk since 1959 and Larry Sherry. Clem Labine would have been my favorite Dodger in the mid 50’s. I am not going to go through the history…

Read More >>

MLB Amateur Draft – June 3-5

May 12, 2019

Most teams realize that the best and least cost approach to building a perennial winner is through draft and development. With a little more than 3 weeks before the June Amateur Draft, teams are very busy looking at who the next Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, or Aaron Judge may be. If it were an exact science all three would have been the overall #1 pick and yet they were not….

Read More >>

What Does The Future Hold?

March 2, 2019

Well, I was going to continue with my analysis of the NL West competition, but I thought that I would comment on the this past week and what the future may hold. Most Dodger fans got caught up in all of the Bryce Harper sweepstakes (including me), but as many of us said at the beginning of the Hot Stove League, a long term deal for Bryce Harper is not…

Read More >>

NL West First Look – SF Giants

February 24, 2019

Yesterday I wrote about the Padres because of the late signing of Manny Machado. The Padres have suffered mightily for many years, but appear to be on the verge of not only being respectable, but also a contender in a year or two, depending on their pitching progress. Today I suffer because I am writing about the hated Giants. The best thing about the Giants is that they are projected…

Read More >>