What Is The Master Plan?

November 26, 2017

Lest we forget, the Dodgers were so close, so very close to winning the World Series last year and they were (for the most part) a very young team.  The CF, SS and 1B were all under 24.  The RF was 26 and the catcher was 27. Next year, they will be even younger after Chase Utley, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez are gone, but that’s not to say they…

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Trading For Stanton as a Way to Cut Payroll

November 13, 2017

OK, that headline brands me as crazy, right?  Well, that’s old news!  Everyone knows that Gioncarlo Stanton is going to cost almost $30 million a year right?  Maybe over the life of the contract, but next year, he might be FREE. Here’s a really important fact:  The Dodgers don’t need to do anything, but if they do, it should be significant and it should reduce payroll.  I think the Dodgers can…

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2017-2018 Hot Stove

November 4, 2017

One of the positives about getting to the WS and extending it to 7 games, is that there is only 5 weeks before the Winter Meetings in Orlando.  We are going to have to pack in a lot of thought and suggestions about the restructuring of a 104 win team into a WS champion.  We are all so much smarter than Friedman and Zaidi sitting in front of a computer…

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Just Wait Until Next Year…

November 2, 2017

I hate saying that! It was a bitter loss… one that I am not likely to get over… ever! Early in Game 7 I blamed Roberts for leaving Yu Momma in for more than 3 seconds, and maybe that had an effect on the Dodgers psyche, but when you only score 1 run and are 1-13 with RISP, you can’t win.  End of story! Justin Turner hit .160 in the…

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Beyond the Statistics

October 29, 2017

Last night’s comeback victory was typical of how the Dodgers have came back to win all year, but this one was different in that Dave Roberts did not try and exploit the usual matchups.  It was not an analytic driven win. As much as some may dislike, it was a win that was made on “gut feelings” as much as analytics.  I thought Dave should have left Rich Hill in…

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Going Back to Houston…

October 27, 2017

Some of you oldtimers will remember this: They don’t make ’em like that anymore, but I digress.  The Dodgers are in Houston – hopefully for a sweep, but I’ll take 2 out of 3 and close it in LA.  Really, this has the look of a seven game series. Tonight is a very critical game.  The winning team will have momentum and that is important. Tonight, Yu Darvish faces the…

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Breakthrough!

October 25, 2017

Well, Clayton Kershaw did not go 9 innings last night, but he was very dominant over 7 innings and he likely could have went at least another innng or two, but that is not how this new version of the Dodgers works.  It was obvious before the game and during the game, that Clayton was intense, but not overly amped up.  He said he treated it like any other start…

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Don’t Go Down With The Ship, Doc!

October 19, 2017

Early in the year, Chase Utley was mired in  a horrible slump and fans started calling for him to retire.  Dave Roberts had faith in him and after hitting .122 in April, he bounced back by hitting .314 in May, and he has been serviceable since then.  He plays great defense, is a wonderful teammate and at 39 years of age, he just looks to be over-matched at the plate…

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The Quick and the Dead

October 13, 2017

It was only a month ago that many fans and national pundits said the Dodgers were the biggest choke artists in the game The Diamondbacks and the Indians were the hottest teams in baseball and were everyone’s darlings, while the Nationals had the best 1-2 starting punch in baseball which should play well in a short series.  The Dodgers dropped to 4th or 5th in the power polls, even though…

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“Just Win, Baby!”

October 7, 2017

I am not sure if Al Davis coined that phrase, but he  sure used it a lot! Clayton didn’t have his best stuff last night as he struggled with his command. But, he continues to ignore my advice.  I tried to tell him. These guys are jumping on his first pitch.  All he has to do is change that up a little. Don’t make every first pitch a strike.  But,…

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