273 posts
It is August, and the annual let’s get crazy season has started. It never fails this time of year. Fans begin to lose their collective minds. Why? Well, I really have no clue. I just sit back and watch. Dodger fans when Kimbrel blows one! What amazes me most is that fans who…
In no way do I think I have all the answers but do get lucky a lot. I think that it is because I do not think in the box or outside of the box. I prefer to think that there is no box! Three weeks ago, I fired our COO and VP of Operations. They were nice guys and I liked them…
The discussion between Bear and B&P on the use of drugs in Baseball got me to thinking. Drugs of some kind have been in vogue in some fashion as long as I have been following baseball. I may not have been aware of it, but it was prevalent. A number of former players have become…
Hope everyone is well. I was just perusing the 2021 Media Guide. A really good source of information for fans. Unfortunately, they no longer sell them. So Mark got me the download site and now all that info is on my computer right at my fingertips. And the first subject I…
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
Over the years, I have taken a lot of heat when I say things like: Alex Verdugo will be Tony Gwnnn-esque! I was not excited that Alex was traded, but I guess Betts was a key cog in the 2020 Championship and I m OK with it unless Betts never comes out of this slump. Why trade for Rollins, Seager is ready! Cody Bellinger is ready! A year before others thought
While thinking of subjects to post about, I was watching the game and marveling at how well our two catchers are playing right now. Even though he went hitless in the opener, Will Smith directly impacted the win with two great throws to nail runners trying to steal. Austin Barnes is an equally adept defender and has also been contributing on offense to start the season. And who is in
Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Carlos Carrasco, and the BIG MARKET name, Francisco Lindor. These four have a chance to be top tier in 2021, with Lindor in the elite class. And they have all changed teams this offseason. The first two names have moved the Padres into a top three NL and top four MLB team, while the second two names have moved the NYM to a significant NL East
I am old school. Never have claimed to be anything but. Baseball has been a part of my life, a big part, for over 60 years. LA was a minor league city until the Dodgers moved here in 1958. We played the game anywhere we could, usually on our school playground. Some played little league, others did not. I never really had any coaching until I played little league. Then
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 .
Puppies . . . who doesn’t love them? Part of the charm of puppies is training them and teaching them to help them along the way in their growth to dogs. “Raising a puppy is not necessarily easy, but it’s an adventure that s full of rewards as you develop a deep bond with your pup that will last throughout his life. A lot of patience and a little extra effort
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
Well the first domino fell on Thursday when Atlanta signed LHRP Will Smith for 3 years and $40MM. It is a little less than Craig Kimbrel $$$, but not much. The Braves are in a position to sign multiple FA and still be well south of the CBT threshold. I expect them to make a run at MadBum and Yasmani Grandal, and maybe Josh Donaldson. Some prognosticators have suggested with
I have been working on about ten different ideas for what to write, and none of them came to a cohesive blog post. Maybe this one will not as well. There has been a lot of speculation as to who the Dodgers may trade for and who they may be required to include in a trade. It is a huge climb from AAA to MLB, and yet we are ready
Some people evidently think I hate Joc, so I went with that catchy headline. In reality, I am not a hater. I don t hate Joc Pederson and I don t even hate the Giants. I don t like the Giants but I don t hate them. I love the Dodgers, but the opposite of LOVE is not HATE. It s ambivalence. When you hate something, it controls you. If you are ambivalent about it,
Last year when Corey Seager went down with Tommy John Surgery, it was immediately known that he would miss the rest of the season. Thus, the Manny Machado trade. It now appears that Corey will be out a month maybe less, so there is absolutely NO WAY the Dodgers are going to trade for ANY shortstop, let alone anyone named Lindor. It ain t happening! Comparing last season to this season
Going into the draft it was thought that the Dodgers were going to pick the best player on their board regardless of position. The Dodgers had enough Bonus Pool money that they could have taken a big HS arm and paid to get them out of their commitment. I thought that Daniel Espino would have been the Dodger selection at #25 if he was available, but the Indians took him
It has been suggested by some that Craig Kimbrel is the solution to the Dodger s bullpen woes. Just to be sure that I understand it, this is the Craig Kimbrel that Boston (who needed a closer) parted ways with and 28 other teams have passed on? No one wants him for a reason, but the Dodgers should sign him anyway with some silly knee-jerk reaction because he just happens to
Well at least the pitchers do! All that most Dodger fans remember about Yasmani Grandal were the passed balls. He was regaled, reviled and ridiculed by many fans. Sure he hit a lot of home runs, but they were in streaks and he struck out too much even though he had a good on base percentage. And on top of that he just disappeared in the playoffs last year . He
The strength of the Farm system is unquestionably the pitching. It is not even close. The breakdown of the MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects is: 12 RHP 2 – LHP 4 Catchers 5 – SS/2B 4 – 3B/1B 3 – OF Baseball America pretty much resembles MLB Pipeline’s prospect list except BA includes reliever Josh Sborz, and OF Carlos Rincon, replacing Braydon Fisher, Marshall Kasowski, and Leonel Valera .
There has been a lot of discussion about the potential of a slow start this year. I and others have pointed out how the “starters” cannot get through 5 innings before the proverbial melt down. Both Hill and Strip went a solid 4 innings, and then came the 5th. Hill is penciled for his final ST outing on Friday (Saturday?), while Strip is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against LAA
I do not look at skeptics as a negative. I think we are all skeptics. I think everyone is asking what the Dodgers could do “IF”… The difference is that while the questions are the same, it is how most of us perceive and respond to those “IF” questions. MT, 59inarow, and Bobby do not see many negative outcomes of any of the questions, if any at all. MT sees
Well now that the Dodgers have signed AJ Pollock, what comes next? Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Is JT Realmuto on the horizon. Apparently, the Pads are very much in on JTR, but they are insisting on extension talks before they consummate the deal. Obviously, either Francisco Mejia or Austin Hedges will be going back in a package. The Pads have ML OF’s available as well a bucket load of high-level
Editorial Note – This was written before the massive Russell Martin deal went down, and I did not want to consider this post to be like Kemp, Puig, Wood, and Farmer and just dump it. The written word is a strange thing. One reader will read comments one way and another reader another way, and yet the writer had a totally different reason for the comment. The most recent
I don t know about you, but it is my opinion that the Dodgers bullpen is not a need right about now. They signed Machine Gun Kelley and have a plethora of options in 2019 including Therrien, Ferguson, Santana and many others. The starting rotation is 8 deep and while it would be nice to add a Kluber or Bauer, the reality of the situation is that Cleveland has not traded
There s nothing that gets Dodger fans dander up more than the Koufax Verses Kershaw Argument. Sandy Koufax pitched for the Dodgers for 12 years, while Clayton is entering his 12th season. Let s look at their average seasons based over their 12 and 11 year careers: Sandy Koufax:16 Wins 8 Losses; 2.76 ERA; 1.106 WHIP; 9.3 K per 9 innings; 3.2 BB per 9 innings Clayton Kershaw: 16 Wins 7 Losses;
No, this is not a course in the “new math.” Five out of four people struggle with math anyway. However, sometimes you can get better by deleting some pieces. You don’t always have to add pieces to get better. These pieces that you subtract may be pieces that most people view as essential, but in reality, they may not be that at all. Now, I am certain that Andrew Friedman
I have no idea what is in the plans for the Dodgers over the next 6 weeks before pitchers and catchers report, if anything. I know it seems logical that the Dodgers would do something, but everybody is waiting to see where Machado and Harper are going to go. The Dodgers do not appear to be the leading team for any of the major FA (except for Grandal). But that
It’s been a year since I first wrote that Max Muncy should be considered the LH hitting 2B (01-02-18). Most did not pay attention, but Max sure did take off in 2018. At 27, Max slashed .263/.391/.582/.973 propped up by 35 HRs in 481 PA. He has never shown that kind of power before. The closest he came was in 2013 when he hit 21 in the California League (A+)
If you are not of that ilk, then you will not be offended, but if you are, I have to ask and I d like to know: Why do you hate Andrew Friedman so much? Note:This is just not directed to LA Dodger Talk s readers This is across the blogosphere. You may say you don t but that is total BULL, and you know that. You hate him! You ve hated him
