33 posts
Dodger fans have watched Cody Bellinger for the past couple of seasons now and many have concluded that “ he doesn’t listen to his coaches,” “he is not coachable,” “he is stubborn ,” and many other superlatives that may come to mind. After less than 30 at-bats, they have…
There is no denying that Freddie Freeman is one of the best players in baseball. He is a stone-cold hitter and would really help the Dodgers, this year… but at what cost? Freddie Freeman will be 33 this season. Do you really want him blocking 22-year-old Miguel Vargas who really…
I continue to read about the sensational LAD prospects. Mark has the Dodgers as a top 10 MiLB organization while no major publication does. After the loss of Keibert Ruiz and Jo Jo Gray, the publications dropped them to mid-level (around 15). Certainly not bad, but also not…
Much has been written about the slow start of Gavin Lux’s MLB career. Mostly by impatient fans. Fans get excited about players when they read stat pages, and claim them to be a can’t miss player. Many are now talking about Andy Pages, Eddys Leonard, Miguel Vargas, Ryan Pepiot…
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…
It s no secret that many Dodger fans want to be rid of Kenley Jansen. I started this blog before the game last night and finished it this morning, so I am not just riding the bandwagon of the Good Kenley, who notched his 26th save last night on just 7 pitches all strikes! Some fans will say it is because Dave Roberts is just a bad manager as to
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
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,
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
I should say some of you guys. and I am glad you are not. No disrespect intended. 😉 For the uninitiated, my wife runs the Finance and Operations part of US Water Systems and I run the Sales and Marketing. She is a very hands-on micromanager, while I am a Big Picture person. She is very good at her job, but it does create some issues. at times. There are
Who will go down next? That seems to be a broken record for this season. Hopefully, everyone gets healthy for the stretch run. Tonight, Trevor Bauer goes against the D-Bags in AZ. The Dodgers are 3rd in team ERA within .06 of the Padres and .10 of the Mets. They are still #2 in starter ERA behind the Mets, but deGrom keeps breaking down (he s older than Clayton) and it
Going into last night s game, Clayton Kershaw had the highest ERA I can remember at this juncture. His ERA was 3.33 before the game and 3.66 after he gave up 5 ER. However, his WHIP sits at 1.01 which is barely above his career average of 1.00. He is now 33 years-old and has started 369 games and pitched 2,403 innings with 2,603 strikeouts. He has 77 strikeouts in about
Up to the 1/3 point of this season, we have seen a slumping Mookie Betts, almost no cody Bellinger, some AJ Pollock and some Corey Seager. That s kind of like an 8-cylinder engine without 4 spark plugs. Tonight Jimmy Nelson and AJ Pollock return and Alex Vesia and Edwin Uceta go back to AAA. You bullpen doom and gloomers are not going to like this, but both of these pitcher s
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
I have only two problems with Rob Manfred: (1) Everything he says; and (2) Everything he does! I hope Tony Clark comes to the bargaining table this offseason and says The MLBPA refuses to negotiate with the owners as long as Rob Manfred is Commissioner. He gets up and walks out! That would be the start of a very good day!
Since last Friday, when the Dodgers beat the Padres 11-6, they have played five more games and scored one less run than they did in Friday s game. When you average two runs a game, you are certain to have a sub .500 record and the Dodgers are 2-3 in those games. It s a testament to their pitching that they have won any of those games. They won one game 2-0
Last night, Noisy was quiet, Raley was hitless in two AB s and Rios continues to look lost. With just four hits in twenty-nine (29) at-bats, Rios is in danger of being optioned. There s no room for underperformers. That is just one of the cold, hard facts. The Dodgers will still give him some time, but Edwin is going to have to earn it, just like Zach McKinstry has earned it. Zach just continues to do the little things well. He is 4th on the team in AB s, so one would have to conclude that his i
Kersh takes the mound for his 9th opening day assignment. Frankly, I wish he wasn t the guy. Although he has a winning record at Coors at 11-5. His ERA there is 4.44. He has allowed 19 HR s in 23 games. 139 hits, and 36 walks in 140 innings. Not great numbers. His WHIP at Coors is 1.250. The Rocks only hit .203 against him there, but they get the most out of their hits.
I have heard and read a lot of Dodger fans ask why the Dodgers have not signed Corey Seager. After all, it s so simple, right? Just sign him hand him a blank check and let him take it from there. Easy Peasy! There you go just get it done! So, why is it not yet done? The simple answer is that the price is unknown and most likely, too
CT3 has earned the 2B starting job so has Gavin Lux. It may be a platoon in the beginning, but we shall see how it plays out. McKinstry and Taylor will get a lot of playing time.
If this is who Gavin Lux is (from what he has shown this Spring), then the Dodgers are going to have an incredible offense. If he keeps hitting (and I can t see why he won t) he is going to be very difficult to keep at the bottom of the lineup. With his speed and baserunning ability, he is a perfect #2 hitter behind Mookie Betts. Speed Kills! That moves Seager to #3 and the trickle-down starts. I doubt that Gavin begins the season as the #2 hitter, but if he earns that spot, look out! This 2021
That leaves the final spot up for grabs between Edwin Rios, Matt Davidson, and Sheldon Noisy. Davidson is not on the 40-man roster, so that would seem to preclude him. Rios could win the job by getting hot at the right time, but there is something I like about having a hitter like Noisy on the bench when there are two out and runners on base and you need a run or two.
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
One of the things I enjoy most about spring training is the opportunity to watch the kids play. Even though there is little chance of them breaking camp with the Dodgers, how exciting it must be for them to be able to pitch and play alongside the veterans. In no particular order, Jo Jo Gray, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Andre Jackson, Michael Grove, Miguel Vargas, Jacob Amaya, Michael Busch, Kody Hoese, James Outman, Andy Pages, Devin Mann, Omar Estevez, Nick Robertson, Ryan Pepiot, Gus Varland,
don t think it makes much sense to have Matt Beaty on the roster, as the Dodgers have plenty of LH hitters. I would think that Noisy makes it as he can play all over the infield and LF as well. He has logged significant innings at SS, as well as 1B, 2B, and 3B. If the Dodgers carry 14 position players, Sheldon makes it. In not, both Noisy and Beaty are not on the team.
No, we are not talking about a couple of games, we are talking about a double post. Michael Norris (aka/Bear) has the first half on Lou Gehrig and Mark Timmons has the second half on last night s debacle. June 2. Now Lou Gehrig Day Bear When I was a boy, back in the day, my baseball hero was not Babe Ruth or Duke Snider. It was Lou Gehrig. Why? Well, I
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 .
Disclaimer: What we are seeing is through the microcosm of Spring Training. Current performance is not evidence of future prospects. It is a small sampling. Some of it is skill and some of it is luck. Take it all with a grain of salt. The Position Players It was great to see Gavin Lux get two hits in three at-bats. If anything, all he needs is confidence and he should
NOTE: Jeff knew what I was going to lead off with today! 😉 Yes, I know it is early, but the best thing I saw all game yesterday and I saw a lot of good things, was Michael Grove s pitching! I wish there was a radar gun, but his stuff looked great. He has an arsenal of pitches and showed an excellent feel. I have always thought he would be
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
