The Dodgers Player Development Machine

March 12, 2024

Under Andrew Friedman’s leadership since 2015, the Dodgers have a winning percentage of . 623 (845-512), including a franchise record 111 wins in the 2022 season as well as a club-best . 717 winning percentage during the shortened 2020 season (43-17).There is a lot more to the Dodgers Player Development that just coaching and one-on-one sessions. Entering his tenth season with the club after being named to the post on October 14,…

Read More >>

I Fault Dave Roberts for One Thing

September 28, 2023

For the record, Dave Roberts is the NL Manager of the Year in my book. The Dodgers lost 2,266 days to the IL disbursed through 29 players. That is the most in baseball. The Angels were close with 2,186 days, and the Yankees lost 2,106 days. The Braves and the Marlins lost 1,658 days and 1,584 days, respectively. Arizona lost 1,099 days to the IL. The Reds lost 1,950 days,…

Read More >>

Is There Hope for Clayton?

September 24, 2023

Last week, I said that unless Clayton could recover 3-5 MPH on his fastball, he could not be more than an “opener” and that we could not count on him to help carry the team. Well, last night he recovered at least 1 MPH on his fastball. His fastest pitch was 89.7 MPH. This leads me to believe that he could gain another 1-2 MPH in the next ten days….

Read More >>

The Dodgers’ G.O.A.T.

September 11, 2023

Here we go again! Sandy Koufax pitched 57 Post-Season Innings, while Clayton has pitched 194 iPost-Season innings to date (notice that I left the door cracked open for more). That is a lot more exposure; Sandy’s ERA was 0.95, while Clayton’s is 4.22. Clayton won 13 games in the playoffs while losing 12. Sandy won four while losing three. Somehow some belive that Koufax won 40 World Series games. However,…

Read More >>

Why are there no workhorse pitchers?

May 11, 2023

It used to be that every team had at least one or two “workhorse” starting pitchers. These are the guys who started 33 to 37 games a season and pitched 25 complete games! In 1966, the Dodgers used a four-man rotation, which was composed of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Claude Osteen, and Don Sutton. Let’s look at the stat lines: Sandy Koufax – 41 GS/27 CG/323 IP/1.73 ERA Don Drysdale…

Read More >>

A Beatdown That Means Nothing

March 7, 2023

It’s always nice to beat SD, but yesterday’s game meant nothing. The Dodgers have to beat them when it counts, and this does not! Noah Syndergaard and Dustin May looked like the best #4 and #5 Starters in baseball, but it was only three innings each. Still, it was encouraging! Gavin Stone saw his first action and struck out 2 in his one-inning pitched. I keep telling everyone… Will Smith…

Read More >>

Dazzy Vance: Late Bloomer

March 2, 2023

Charles Arthur Vance was born March 4, 1891, in Orient, Iowa. His father was Albert Theophilus Vance, a farmer, and his mother, Sara Elizabeth; He was their fifth child. When he was young, they moved to a farm in Pleasant Hill Township. Located in Webster County, Nebraska. Webster County is very near the Kansas state line. Vance attended high school but made his baseball reputation pitching for a semi-pro team…

Read More >>

Short Term, Big Impact

February 15, 2023

We were discussing, actually, it was just brought up, the impact of Manny Machado when he came to LA in 2018, After the World Series in 18 he became a free agent and left for the Padres. So, I thought I would jump in my way back machine, and stick to LA Dodgers only, seeing what players came to LA for a relatively short time and impacted the team’s fortunes….

Read More >>

The Brooklyn Legacy is Slowly Disappearing

February 4, 2023

Time stops for no one. And as the Dodgers get ready to enter their 65th season in Los Angeles, they approach the 67 years the Dodgers were part of the Major Leagues in Brooklyn. The National League as we know it, was formed in 1890. The Dodgers won their first title that season. Their roots in Brooklyn as a professional team go back a little further. And they also have…

Read More >>

The Brooklyn Connection is Almost Gone

November 1, 2022

I was wondering the other day how many players who took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers are still living. According to what I have read, there are only nine. The most prominent is Sandy Koufax. Sandy is in his 80’s and when seen at the playoffs, he looked pretty good for a man his age. A couple of the names on the list would be completely foreign to most…

Read More >>