Big Dodger News!

February 20, 2023

Pinkie Problems The first casualty of Spring Training occurred a few days ago when Miguel Vargas took a bad hop to his right pinky finger, which caused a hairline fracture. Since he is a RH hitter, his right hand is not his bottom hand, and he would likely play if it were the playoffs or an important game, but he will likely miss a couple of weeks. He thinks he…

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JD Martinez – New Clubhouse Leader

February 9, 2023

There is no denying that Justin Turner was the Dodgers’ Main Clubhouse Leader during his tenure with the team. Of course, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw were also there and are leaders, and what I am about to write is in no way meant to be demeaning to JT, who will always have a special place in Dodger lore. However, maybe Andrew Friedman and the Dodger Brass felt it was…

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The Dodgers Rotation is the Best in Baseball

February 1, 2023

For the past several weeks, we have been discussing who is going to play where and how the rookies will fit in. Will Lux play SS or 2B? Will Vargas play 3B, 2B or LF? Will Outman start in CF? Will Busch play anywhere? There is a lot to be decided, and we are not going to solve all that today. That is why they have Spring Training. If I…

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Rules Changes

January 30, 2023

I started working on this piece with the intention of showing that the 2023 rule changes are significant to the game, and this season will show major changes that baseball has seldom seen. That morphed into a look at baseball history and the rule changes that have occurred over the years.  Maybe I went too far, as dipping back into the origins of the game and rules at the outset…

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Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

January 17, 2023

Don Mattingly had a .551 Winning Percentage as the Dodger Manager, while Dave Roberts has a .632 Winning Percentage. Trying to make any comparison between the two is dumb. I did not like Mattingly, and it was for one reason – he could not run the clubhouse. The Mattingly Dodger teams were a free-for-all. It was Dodge City, not Dodgertown. That’s why I wanted to get rid of him. I…

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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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The End of an Era Again

November 19, 2022

It’s always frustrating losing good, home-grown players to free agency especially when they’re well-liked and have put up huge numbers for the club.  Cody Bellinger meets this criteria for some and doesn’t for others.  He burst onto the scene in 2017 while arriving a year early by most accounts.  He didn’t disappoint.  He crushed 39 homers that year and on the way to winning the Rookie of the Year award,…

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The State of the Pitching… and More

November 12, 2022

Now that the smoke has cleared, we can see pretty clearly that things have changed. Let’s consider what has happened or likely will happen: Craig Kimbrel is gone (YAY); Justin Turner’s option was not picked up; Andrew Heaney is likely gone; David Price allegedly retired; Danny Duffy is likely gone; Jimmy Nelson is likely gone; Blake Treinen is not a factor in 2023; Chris Martin is on the market and…

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Five Problems Facing the Dodgers

October 30, 2022

Every Dodger fan has their own idea of how to “fix” the Dodgers or how to build them for the playoffs. First of all, the Dodgers don’t need “fixed” – they won 111 games and picked a horrible time to turn cold. After leading MLB in hitting with RISP with a .272 BA (Houston was 2nd with a .270 BA), the Dodgers proceeded to hit .147 during their short time…

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A Lethal Dose of Perspective

October 22, 2022

Note: Bulldogs & Penguins has persuaded me that I should post once a week, so that is what I am going to do. It was a good idea. Thanks, B & P! Sunday will be my day to post… except for this week (since today is Saturday). Before someone tries and put words in my mouth, I do not think Andrew Friedman is perfect. I wish he had not traded…

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