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 then as I usually do, I got long winded and decided to make it blog article. I…
It is time to go down the list of Dodger managers over the years and see how they stack up against each other. We will start in the 1900’s since none of the managers before then were with the team for extended periods of time. First up is Hall of Famer, Wilbert Robinson. Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson started his baseball life in 1886 with the Philadelphia franchise of the American…
Since moving to Los Angeles in 1958, the Dodgers have had some very good seasons, some bad ones, some simply good, and one God awful season. 1992. What happened to this team to make it lose 99 games? That is by far, the most in LA Dodger history. The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost 90 games or more twice, 92, and 2005. Brooklyn lost 100 or more twice. LA also…
Since the deadline is just a few days away, I thought it might be fun to look back on some of the trades the Dodgers have made over the years. Some were significant in helping the team win, others, well they just were not all that good or popular. Winter: 1958 On the 4th of December, the Dodgers sent Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals for OF Wally Moon and P…
Occasionally, I have a little more information than some of you (at times), but it’s not nearly as much as it used to be when I had several members of the Dodgers Organization on Speed dial. Jeff probably has a lot more inside connections than I do now. Since Andrew Friedman became President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers, I have very little inside information… and that is by Andrew’s…
What does this game we love really need? Interesting question. More action? More runs? Shorter games? MLB has tried numerous things to get all of these in play. And in reality, I believe some of all of these would be a good thing. I also think the game could use a few more personalities.. Players who are just a little bit out there. I would have loved to have a…
For as long as Julio Urias has been in the Dodger system, there seem to have been rumors of trading him away. I railed against it! I was OK with losing De Leon, Oakes, Sborz, Montas, Holmes, and Cotton, but I felt that Julio Urias had something special. After all, he had at least four pitches and could control them very well. His curve was knee-buckling and his upper 90’s…
Then in early April in San Diego, Malone went after a fan who was verbally abusing Gary Sheffield. He resigned a few days later, and Dave Wallace, former pitching coach was named interim GM. They traded for outfielder McKay Christenson in July. In July they also traded for Mike Twombley, Terry Mullholland, and James Baldwin in separate deals Usually for minor leaguers.
Gibson, Hatcher, Dempsey, Samuel, and Valenzuela all became free agents in November, but on the 8th of November, Claire signed FA outfielder Darryl Strawberry. He signed Kevin Gross and Brett Butler. Traded Vizcaino to the Cubs for Greg Smith. Then he sent Brooks to the Mets for Greg Hansell and Bob Ojeda. They also re-signed Samuel, Valenzuela and Hatcher. They traded Holmes to the Brewers for a minor leaguer and did the same with Poole.
The last time out we perused players who between 1958 and 1970 who were first year players and had some or little impact on the season. The 1970’s was the dawn of a new era of Dodger baseball. Before they were over, Walter Alston would retire, and a ball of fire named Tommy Lasorda would inject a new philosophy into the managers chair. It would also usher in the longest…