The Most Important Dodger Player

February 19, 2023

The Dodgers’ hopes to win a World Series in 2023 hinge on a lot of things, including JD Martinez’s resurgence, J-Heys and David Peralta’s ability to come back, the pitching staff’s health, the ability of rookies to seize the day, and whether Freeman, Smith, Muncy & Betts can have All-Star Caliber years. However, nothing is more vital to the Dodgers’ hopes than Gavin Lux and his ability to play SS….

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Diego Cartaya – Dodgers Next 3B?

February 18, 2023

You are not going to hear this said out loud and I am not going to reveal my sources (so you can take this for whatever you think it is worth), but there is growing sentiment within the Dodgers organization that Diego Cartaya might need to change positions. This is especially true if Will Smith can be locked up long term. The Dodgers have a plethora of Catchers and while…

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Will Julio Urias be a Dodger Past This Season?

February 7, 2023

This year will be Julio Urias’ 8th season as a Dodger, during which time he has made almost $30 Million Dollars. His next contract will be for ten years and be around $400 Million. He will make more in one season than he has in his whole career. When he hits free agency, he will be just 27 years old! That put him at the intersection of entering his prime…

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Understanding the Luxury Tax 

January 14, 2023

The optimist sees bubbles and thinks of champagne. The pessimist thinks Alka-Seltzer. The fact of the matter is that everyone thinks the Dodgers are the richest organization in baseball and should sign an All-Star at every position because that is the recipe for a World Championship. If you believe that, you are either naive or very dumb… or both. First off, what is the Luxury Tax? Actually, it’s called the…

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Who’s Stealing Now?

January 14, 2023

I have been wondering about this. The new bigger bases are supposed to improve the running game, IE, stolen bases. This has been a winter of change. The Dodger’s two best thieves of bags have left the team. Trea Turner, 27, and Cody Bellinger 14 have left via free agency. # 3 on the team last year was Freddie Freeman with 13. Mookie had 12, and Chris Taylor had 10….

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Disruption Galore – the 2023 World Baseball Classic

January 6, 2023

This spring, we will witness the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). I call it Bud Selig’s attempt to copy soccer’s World Cup. It’s an interesting concept, and the idea is noble.  We’d like to see the game globalized and allow amazing athletes on the other side of the globe to prove their abilities as “baseball” players instead of soccer, basketball, or rugby, or cricket.  But there are…

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Happy New Years! Vegas is Wrong

January 1, 2023

The Dodgers are coming off of one of the all-time great seasons in the history of Major League Baseball.  Only the 1906 Cubs had a season in the Senior Circuit with more wins and only 4 teams have ever matched or exceeded 111 wins.  There’s no doubt about it, last year’s team was great, tainted only by an early postseason exit against a team they dominated all season. That’s not…

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What to REALLY Expect From the Dodgers

November 29, 2022

NOTHING! I don’t mean that they will do nothing, but it just will not be what you expect. There was a great article in THE ATHLETIC today (you can still subscribe for $1 a month right now), that most likely “perfectly describes” what Andrew Friedman is likely to do. It turns out that the Dodgers don’t have just a Plan A, but they also have a Plan B, C, E,…

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“Get It Out of the Grandstand!”

September 7, 2022

On a night when no other Dodgers drove in any runs, Max Muncy and Joey Gallo, the true “Live by the HR, Die By the Strikeout Guys,” went yard three times and drove in all six Dodger runs. They didn’t have to get the Home Runs out of the ocean as Max did to Baumgarner, but they did have to get them in the grandstand. Don’t you dare say the…

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What About Next Year?

September 6, 2022

I had already started this blog post when Whistling Ranger (welcome to LADT) posted this: “I look for the Dodgers to concentrate on roster management in the offseason. There is extreme competition for the 40-man roster.  Look for them to trade older players for younger, promising players that they don’t have to protect. If they don’t, they will lose some through the rule 5 draft or have to DFA them.”…

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