LADodgerTalk.com – Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

During the Dodgers’ sale process,  Frank McCourt said that he was selling the team and the Stadium, but not the parking lots.  Everyone and I mean EVERYONE said that the sale HAD to include the parking lots and that Frank McCourt just needed to leave town ASAP.  Then we heard that Guggs and Company bought [...]

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There are a variety of reasons for this, but the not the least of which is the disconnect between the coaches and the players. Joe Torre and Company are not known for being brilliant strategists, and that issue was readily exposed this season. In my opinion, none of the coaching staff should be back. There needs to be a clean sweep. I would give Ned Colletti one more year. I think he has learned a lot, but I still think giving up James McDonald for Dotel was a bonehead move. I believe that James McDonald IS BETTER RIGHT NOW than Octavio Dotel.

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Jared Massey and I were both at Blogger Night in LA on Monday Night and during the six plus hours at Dodger Stadium we gained a lot of insight into the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers.  So, here is some of what we have learned: Ned Colletti spoke with us for nearly an hour and was [...]

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The Knucklehead:  Getting shot in the leg is enough to cause you to get branded as a knucklehead, but there’s a lot more to it than that.  Vicente Padilla arguably has some one thebest stuff you will ever see, but it’s his “knuckle-headedness”  which has kept him from achieving his potential.  Obviously, something happened in [...]

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On April 26, 2009 Clayton Kershaw was pounded by the Colorado Rockies.  He lasted 4.2 innings while giving up 9 earned runs, on 2 HR, and his ERA sat at 7.29 after that game.  I his next start he pitch 7 shutout innings against the Padres and won 1-0. When Clayton Kershaw gets beat, he [...]

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Since the Dodgers failed to offer arbitration the Hudson and Wolf, I have heard such incessant crying and complaining about the Dodgers failure to do so and how stupid it was.  Right about now, I am going to publish what Jon Weisman  wrote today at his new gig at ESPN Los Angeles, where he has [...]

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… and nothing but the truth!  That’s why you come here, because I am going to tell you the truth.  God knows it’s not because I’m a writer.  At any rate, let’s consider the following and see if what is happening is true or false. True or False:  Ned Colletti, Frank McCourt and Dennis Mannion have [...]

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Some people are saying that the Dodgers are a .500 team (when I say “some people” I don’t mean “informed baseball people”), which I think is just plain delusional.  I think sometimes Dodger fans fail to take into consideration that change is inevitable, and often, it is good.  Will everything be OK?  Seth Godin summed [...]

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There is much debate among baseball professionals and fans regarding the benefit of taking multiple pitches during an at bat in order to drive up the pitch count of the starting pitcher and to see more types of pitches in order to be more productive later in the game.  However, it is well know that [...]

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The benching of Orlando Hudson at the end of the season is something that has been talked about by Dodger fans, at the time and up to now.  For the record, I stated that Hudson should have been the starter in the playoffs.  However, I am going to remind everyone that Joe Torre was closer [...]

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Some people say I am too optimistic and that I always predict career years for the Dodgers, so I thought I’d post what I said last year.  This is from a February 16, 2009 post, which was BEFORE O-Dog and Manny were signed: 1B- James Loney is quietly becoming a force at 1B.  He will win [...]

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Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts made a good point yesterday when he asked:  Honestly, if the Dodgers had done nothing to this point except offer Wolf and Hudson arbitration — if they had gotten those draft picks as compensation, made no roster additions and were just waiting out the market to sign a No. 4 [...]

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Yeah, Arte Moreno looks really swell – He signed Lackey and Figgins and Matsui, right?  What?  not Lackey and Figgins?  Well, Matsui is a friggin’ gazelle, I tell you!  Moreno is a genius!  Yeah, that’s the ticket!  You guys kill me with your incessant sobbing! Come next season, you goofballs are going to look back [...]

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It’s no secret that the McCourts are in the midst of a messy divorce, but would things be any different if Frank and Jamie were still together? Would that have caused the Dodgers to offer arbitration to Randy Wolf and/or Orlando Hudson?  Would that have caused the Dodgers to sign Wolf?  Well, no one can [...]

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After talking with lots and lots of scouts, pro personnel people and writers, I am convinced that the Dodgers did the right thing in refusing arbitration to Wolf and Hudson.  There are lots of reasons why and I will articulate them later this week.  I overheard some other scouts talking about the Dodgers Young Arms and [...]

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There’s not a lot of movement, so far – Just the D-Backs trade with the Tigers and Yankees.   I find it curious that the D-Backs gave away “Mad-Max” so easily. Jamie and Frank have allegedly agreed on her monthly stipend so the hearing is cancelled the 15th! Ned is kicking the tires of Pinero and [...]

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The Baseball Winter Meetings are being held in Indianapolis beginning on Monday, December 7th thru Thursday, December 10th.  While MLB would not issue me a credential, I will be there and hopefully get lucky.   The only thing that credentials really do is get you inside the interview room when there are news conferences. I can [...]

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The Spin:  “We didn’t think it was prudent to offer Wolf or Hudson arbitration in this down market because we really didn’t want either one and we were afraid they would accept.” The No-Spin:  “Frank won’t spend a dime and we are a bunch of ignorant jackasses.” The Spin:  “The divorce won’t have an effect [...]

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Just in case you haven’t figured it out, attendance at Dodger Stadium is not the only source of income for the Dodgers.  While their have attendance has been stellar,  most other teams  have seen substantial declines in attendance, which means that the Dodgers get a smaller cut of the gate and concessions.  It is not clear [...]

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If you have a home which is worth $400,000 or $400,000,000 and you are served divorce papers by your spouse,  what do you do?  It’s obvious that a great part of the parties’ net worth is that asset.  Some people are idiots about this – some have even burned-down the house rather than split the [...]

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