114 posts
There has been a lot of speculation about FA the Dodgers may want to re-sign or sign. We have no idea what the CBT will be, or what the penalties will be if a team exceeds that limit with the upcoming CBA. Currently the taxes can reach a maximum 50% for all salaries above the…
Now that the WS is over, the MLB calendar is set (maybe). Maybe because we have no idea what will become of the CBA after the current CBA expires on 12-1. Tentatively, the MLB dates: November 3 – 160 players were declared Free Agents. The Dodgers have 11. November 3 – 7 – Free…
I know some of you are saying, “Please not another Dave Roberts post” I understand. But if you have ideas, write a post and get it to Mark and he will gladly post it. I was going to respond yesterday to Mark’s reference to Bill Shaiken’s article and some of the comments, but…
Very early in the season, I predicted that the Dodgers would have a TOP 5 BULLPEN. Well, they currently are now #5 in ERA in all of MLB. I have always used ERA as a metric, although I know there are many others. Some of you want to use other metrics to disprove that they are #5. I say Whatever! I have always thought about combining a number of metrics,
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
With Dustin May, Trevor Bauer, and Clayton Kershaw all out of the picture, at least for the time being, the Dodger starting rotation after the All-Star Break looks like this: Striker Buehler Julio Urias Tony Gonsolin David Price JoJo Gary Yes, I said JoJo Gray. He will get another start or maybe two at OKC, and hopefully, be built up to at least four innings by then (hey, it s better
Last night the Dodger players spoke without saying a word. Their four errors showed that they might have been somewhat distracted and understandably so. But they maintained their composure until they got Max Scherzer out of the game and proceeded to destroy the Nationals bullpen. The Dodger players were laughing and having a great time for the most part except for the defensive lapses. I can understand it. The White
It was reported that immediately after the game last night a San Francisco Giants fan tried to blow up a LA Dodger fan s car. He was not successful, however, as he kept burning his lips on the exhaust pipe. Well, if you are only going to get 5 hits, make sure most of them are Home Runs and the Dodgers did that last night. The bullpen again came through BIG
Being no-hit in baseball is humbling, humiliating, embarrassing, and in this case, it is a wake-up-call! Bear was right yesterday, these are not the 2020 Dodgers. This version is different from last year. Gone are the all-or-nothing bats of Kike and Joc who have been replaced by McKinstry and Lux. That has not been a problem. The problems is that the team has gotten poor production from Betts, Seager and
There is a lot to unpack about last night s game, but to blame Dave Roberts for putting in his closer in the 10th inning is just plain silly. If Blake Treinen did his job, Kenley would not have been needed in the 10th. Before last night s game, Kenley Jansen had given up 1 run and 2 hits in his 11 appearances in May! Even after last night s debacle, his ERA
Let s get one thing straight: Andrew Friedman is the President and GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is his responsibility to oversee anything that is connected with Baseball Operation. For the sake of this blog, Andrew Friedman is responsible for building the Dodgers Bullpen. To date, most Dodgers fans are saying that he built a deplorable bullpen. I have heard one fan say it was an average bullpen. They
Clayton Kershaw starts on Opening Day, followed by Trevor Bauer, Striker (never call him Walker) Buehler, Julio Urias and [DRUM ROLL] Dustin May! To those of you who worried his season would be wasted on the bench: Don t Worry! He is in the rotation and Tony Gonsolin and David Price are in the bullpen. With Jimmy Nelson in the bullpen as well, the Dodgers can save the backend of the
LA DODGER TALK is not your normal Dodger blog site. Even Ray Charles can see that no other Dodger site has a Dodger historian like Michael Norris. Michael or Bear as we know him, is a National Dodger Treasure! What he lays down is not available anywhere else! Then we have 2Demeter2, who has committed to trying to write one blog a week wherein he will give his opinion from
Some games have highlight nd some have lowlights. It seems to me that last night s game was of the lowlight variety. Nothing worth remembering well, maybe a couple of things: The Pitchers Julio Urias has filthy stuff, but he still has not figured out the first inning. This needs to change. There is something about the first inning Bring him in the second, fifth, ninth inning and he is fine .
The Spring is three games in, and to draw any conclusions would be foolhardy. But I still have some observations from what I have seen thus far. For the first three games, the pitching has been outstanding. Albeit, without Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, Oakland’s offense is just north of woeful, as is Colorado without Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. The Giants did not play but a couple of regulars .
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
Today is the day that pitchers and catchers are due to report to Camelback Ranch for the Dodgers. Tomorrow is the first day of workouts. Full squad reports February 22, with the first full squad workout scheduled for February 23. The Dodgers play their first spring training game on Sunday, February 28 against the Oakland A’s at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. There will be some rules in effect that
A little premature to know if AF is finished yet, but the Dodger bullpen has already been overhauled some. Knebel, Cleavenger, Kahnle, the new kids on the block. Kahnle will not pitch this season, and Cleavenger has never pitched above AA. Wood and Baez have gone to SF and Houston respectively, and McGee so far has not been signed anywhere. And the roster sits at 40. There are all sorts
It s really simple: If Brandon Morrow is healthy, he is very, very good! When he s not healthy, he is not a factor. He has had elbow, calf and shoulder injuries the past two years and is allegedly healthy now. He will be 37 in July and this is likely his last dance.
Sign DJ LeMahieu? That would cost the Dodgers a draft pick. Remember when, after losing Mark Teixeira to free agency and the Yankees, the Angels were awarded the 25th pick of the draft as compensation. And who did they use that pick on? None other than Mike Trout. Or look at it another way: Signing Mark Teixeira cost the Yankees Mike Trout.
Michael Norris (aka Bear) has written two excellent pieces the past two days on the history of the Dodgers, specifically, the O Malley s ownership of the team until it was sold to Fox Group in late 1997. It was approved in overwhelmingly by MLB owners in March 1998. Peter O Malley said the primary reason for selling the Dodgers was estate planning, but Tommy Lasorda said the following: I think that Peter
I continue to read that AF cannot sign high priced FA because they need to hold money for their prized youngsters: Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Julio Urias, and Walker Buehler. AF has set himself up with large contracts coming off the books as these players come into their FA years. Now there is no guarantee that any of the four want to stay with LAD, but there should be sufficient
Maybe you missed it, but the 2020 Dodgers are the World Champions. Yes, by golly, they won it again after just 32 short years. It wasn t a fluke and going into 2021, they are the odds on favorite to win it all again. Hey You all, watch this: I ll blow up the team and make dope-fiend trades just because I can , said the stupid Redneck! I ll do it out by my
While reviewing the list of LAD pitchers, the Dodgers have 66 pitchers currently in their organization. Per Fangraph’s Roster Resource the breakdown is as follows: MLB Starting Pitchers (5) MLB Relief Pitchers (9) MiLB Starting Pitchers (34) – 9 Rule 5 Eligible MiLB Relief Pitchers (18) – 13 Rule 5 Eligible With the pending MiLB contraction, those numbers are obviously going to decrease. Many of these pitchers are organizational depth,
The Hot Stove League is always fun for us armchair GMs, allowing us to look at ways of improving a reigning World Series championship team. Not just a WS championship team, but THE consensus choice of the best team in MLB for 2020. But changes must be made. Nothing can stay at the top by being stagnant. Changes can come internally or externally. AF is a master as to building
Well, basically, that is what we all are in some form or another. I know that I have often thought, damn, I can do it better than he can, or what is he thinking? Armchair GM s also usually feel they are good managers too. Over the last several years, I have often disagreed with both Roberts and AF. I still feel Roberts, although a great communicator and player s manager, still
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
Second base has been an enigma for the Dodgers for the last two decades. The concern does predate AF, but he has not found the remedy for the position. The opening day 2B for LAD during the AF era has been Kike’ (2 years), Logan Forsythe (2 years), Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick 1 year each. The best bWAR during the AF era was Kike’ last year at 2.2. It
Nothing comes easy when the Dodgers play the Giants. And I guess that is how it should be. LA goes to SF and we go into extra innings for Game 1 of a 3 game series. Things started out great for the Dodgers as they get a pair of one out singles from Seager and JT. After a Belli fly out, Muncy gets a three run jack in the first
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
