Willie or Won’t he Calhoun?

March 22, 2017

Willie Calhoun is a very polarizing figure – you meet him you immediately like him!  You watch him hit – you love him.  You watch him run and you wonder, and you watch him field and you become nauseous.  Any manager would love to have his bat but very few could tolerate his fielding. Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi have shown repeatedly that they value defense.  I challenge any sane…

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Some Players Are Not Going to be Happy

March 19, 2017

The 2017 version of the LA Dodgers has nearly 40 players who have shown that they deserve to be on the Opening Day Roster, but many won’t.  I am not going to include Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo or Cody Bellinger because they will be ready soon enough, but I am talking about players who have demonstrated that they belong on the big league roster.  I am not even considering Charlie…

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Logan Forsythe Could Lead the Dodgers to the World Series

March 13, 2017

Sabermetrics don’t value stolen bases and speedy baserunners as highly as some old time baseball fans eyes.  Logan Forsythe is not a speedster, but he is an exceptional baserunner with amazing instincts.  He is also a very good defensive second-baseman, but until Sunday, I had no idea how good, until he made a play I am not sure I have ever seen. On a ball hit just to the 2B…

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It’s All About Risk Verses Reward

March 11, 2017

Every Dodger fan knows that Zack Greinke signed with the D-Backs after the 2015 season for $200+ million. On Thursday, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro  wrote this about Zack Greinke: After his first pitch of the day on Wednesday afternoon – a fastball on the outer half for a called strike – Zack Greinke stole a glance at the video board at Salt River Fields: pitch speed, 88 mph. For the second…

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What I Wish For…

March 9, 2017

I started LA Dodger Talk over 16 years ago as a place where Dodger fans could come and share their hopes and dreams, tears and fears.  Over time, it evolved into a site where no matter what I said, four or five people said the opposite… just because.  Yeah, just because! I even proved it by later taking the other side only to have them disagree again.  That prompted me…

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Mostly Raves… Except Ravin

March 6, 2017

Just so everyone is clear, I am a Willie Calhoun fan – I would love to see him overcome the odds of being a slow runner and a bad fielder and become the opposite.  I do not denigrate him because of his stature – that is irrelevant!  It’s his fielding and running, and when I say he has “tree-trunk legs,” it means that they are huge and stay in one…

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Let’s Cut to the Chase…

March 3, 2017

So, I hear that some people are saying that trading Chase De Jong was really stupid – that’s the word they used: STUPID!  Of course, most of these people have an “end game.”  They are FAZaphobes!  They hate Andrew Friedman for reasons they can’t explain (or care to explain in public) and they prefer to wallow in their negativity. So it was stupid to trade a guy who was like…

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It’s Early, But Keep Your Eyes Open

February 27, 2017

I watched the Brewers feed yesterday. I sometimes do that just to hear what other baseball people have to say about the team and certain players.  On e of the Brewers announcers said this: “The Dodgers have 10 legitimate Major League Quality Starting Pitchers.”  “This is a team with a great deal of depth. They are built for the long haul.” I actually think it’s more than 10, because at…

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It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose…

February 25, 2017

It’s how you play the game.  That’s what Spring Training is about.  Nevermind the record.  How did they do? Kershaw was Kershaw Wood was not Good and I can’t be ravin about Ravin. Fabio Castillo pitched well, but he is 28 years old and a career minor leaguer with a 32-50 record and a 4.50 ERA.  Nothing to see here folks… move along!  Then again, this is baseball… you never…

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It’s the Fight in the Dog!

February 25, 2017

Paul DePodesta once said “If it can’t be quantified, it’s not important!”  I am sure that is part of the reason why he in no longer in baseball. He is now the stat guru for the Cleveland Browns.  In the book Moneyball, in which DePo was one of the characters, you also heard that he did not value defense very much.  I guess that’s why he is so comfortable in Cleveland…

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