20 posts
I find it humorous that some of you think I was hiding yesterday after the Ohtani signing was announced. I would urge you not to judge me by your proclivity to hide when you are faced with what you may believe is adversity. First of all, this is baseball… not real life! Nobody…
I want to apologize for the late post today. I have another post just about ready, but after reading comments for the past couple of days, I just wanted to speak from the heart about the current state of our favorite team. At the same time, I wanted everyone to at least have…
The truth about Trevor Bauer is more of a reflection of the person who forms an opinion about Bauer than the truth about the accusations against Bauer himself. We may never know “ the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!” However, this is still America where a…
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
Please, not another Tom Hanks movie reference! I contemplated as to whether I should write the following column. It is not about the Dodgers, but it does reflect on how stupid some can be in a position at the highest level in a MLB organization. This issue is going to be heavily considered in the upcoming CBA negotiations, so it is important from a MLB standpoint. The Seattle Mariners are now
“Well, it’s a significant demarcation,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said. “I wouldn’t say that it’s a line that cannot be passed, but it’s definitely a significant consideration when you get to that level.” Per Andy McCullough, The Athletic, “by instructing Alderson to mind the luxury-tax threshold…new Mets owner Steve Cohen has conformed with his 29 colleagues in baseball’s ownership class. The competitive balance tax operates as baseball’s de facto salary
In a November 15, 2015 article authored by Matthew Moreno at dodgerblue.com, Andrew Friedman and Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten maintained that the extravagant spending for the Dodgers would not continue, and that the 2016 season would provide a small opportunity to make progress toward balancing the scale. According to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly recently echoed a similar sentiment, going so far as to
The financing of a baseball season is going under the microscope this offseason and potentially into next season. There is no question that MLB lost several billion in revenues. According to Forbes’ estimates from 2019, as gathered by the University of Michigan sports economist Rodney Fort, MLB teams made a total of $9.9 billion as follows: REVENUE (IN BILLIONS) UNDER… CATEGORY NORMAL SEASON HALF-SEASON W/O FANS* Gate receipts $2.84B $0.00B
On October 14th, 2014, the Dodgers announced the hiring of Andrew Friedman. Former Tampa Bay GM and Vice President of baseball operations as President of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His contract was for 5 years and 35 million dollars. Friedman was born in Houston Texas and attended Tulane University on a baseball scholarship. His college career was derailed by a couple of injuries. He earned a B.A .
I know that many are afraid of a Betts/Price trade because of the financial concerns for David Price, and I can understand that. So I went back and looked at the Nick Punto trade (I know Mark’s favorite subject); a previous time when the Dodgers assumed a huge financial obligation for a perceived benefit. I pulled the below article: https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/3/29/17104518/gonzalez-beckett-crawford-red-sox-dodgers-trade-retrospective One of the lines that caught my eye was when
I cannot see the Dodgers signing Josh Donaldson. He reportedly has two pending four year deals (Twins and Washington). But the Braves have right of last refusal (meaning that is where he wants to play), but they are going to need to guarantee that 4th year, which they are contemplating right now. There is no reason for the Dodgers to continue to chase their tails here. JT is a quality
Several years ago, when the Dodgers traded for Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez (among others), I called BS. I still do. Yeah, I know what Kasten and Colletti were trying to do, but that was not the only way. Five years ago, when the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman they had the biggest payroll in baseball and had been bounced from the playoffs two straight years after missing them altogether the
I do not think any Dodger fan can possibly disagree about the disappointment over the last three years. I use three, because realistically that has been the span where the Dodgers were in a position to win it all. Certainly Doc has had a problem of thinking too much in the playoffs. It was never more evident as it was in Game 5 of the NLDS. But the players have
The off-season is fully here yet, but the banter about the free-agents we should sign or acquire by trade has already begun in full-force. I thought I might join in on the speculation, and throw out some names that haven’t been mentioned before, or at least not recently. Keep in mind that I have not made any in-depth statistical analysis of these players, I don’t have any of their medical
I have always had a fascination with the development of baseball players. It started when coaching youth ball, and continued on to high school baseball. But what happens after a player gets drafted and signs that contract? Are these young men receiving the best possible instruction? Are the teams creating an environment for those players to maximize their abilities? How exactly do you accomplish that? Strictly through Sabermetrics? Is it
Well here we go, with my initial attempt to entertain you folks for the day and, hopefully, provide you with an interesting and thought provoking read. Admittedly, Mark T. tried his best to trade for Jon Weisman or Mike Petriello, two of the most elite bloggers out there, but he was unsuccessful. Instead, rather sadly, he ended up giving you me, the Zac Rosscup of bloggers. As we take a
For a while, I have refrained from saying anything bad about Bryce Harper because I knew there was a possibility he could be a Dodger. I knew the Giants would make a run at him, but I could not see the Dodgers letting him sign there. Evidently, Friedman offered 4 years/$180 million to Harper. The Dodgers pitch to Harper was to make him the highest paid player by a mile .
As we are winding down to less than 2 weeks before pitchers and catchers report, I was having a tough time trying to find a single topic to write a novel on. So I am going to just give some of my thoughts on a few topics. 1. Yes, Stan Kasten stuck his massive foot square in his mouth at the FanFest, and for no good reason. I am by
Yesterday Mark commented, “The fact that the Yankees went over the Luxury Tax Threshold does not mean the Dodgers should do the same. That, and the Yankees have no outside shareholders to revolt. Hopefully you can understand that.” Maybe it was or maybe it wasn’t, but I assumed that is directed at me since I brought up NYY exceeding the CBT threshold. I want to be clear. I never said
There are a lot of Dodger fans who regard me as a heretic when I try and say that Clayton Kershaw will go down in history as the LA Dodgers Greatest Of All Time as a pitcher. But, that s my story and I m sticking to it! So, as we start, let s get this over with: Career Records Sandy Koufax 12 Seasons * 2,324 IP *2,396 K * 165 Wins
