Thanks to Bluto’s suggestion, I did listen to Jayson Stark’s and Doug Glanville’s podcast. There was a short segment on the upcoming Contemporary Era selections to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Stark believed that it is perfectly set up for Fred McGriff to be named to the HOF. Former teammates Chipper Jones and Greg Maddux are two of the 16 voters. Okay that is two votes. A player needs 12 votes to getting elected into the Hall.
The ballot consists (alphabetically) of Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling.
McGriff is a fine choice, and it seems incredulous that the most vote percentage he received was 40%. He could be considered a ‘tweener, but the below article sort of shows how comparable the Crime Dog was to Big Papi who was a first ballot HOF.
https://calltothepen.com/2022/01/27/david-ortiz-fred-mcgriff-comparison-hall-fame/
Doug Glanville is pulling for a former teammate, Curt Schilling. I have long been an advocate for Schilling being in the HOF. He was an outstanding teammate to my son both with Philadelphia and Boston. Of course his mouth has gotten him into trouble, and he has not been the best business man. But what he has done on the baseball field should be what matters most. If character is a driving force for some, then his winning the 2001 Clemente Award should also be considered. If I were voting, I would vote for McGriff and Schilling.
————-
The next segment was with Dave Roberts. Company man or not, I like to hear what he has to say.
Immediately after the NLDS, so as to escape his hometown of San Diego, Doc and his wife whisked off to London. While in London, he caught up with Chase Utley and his wife, who apparently now live in London. Chase is MLB’s Ambassador to UK.
Upon his return, he and 6 couples were flown to Spain (all expenses paid0, to celebrate a friends 70th birthday. The birthday celebration was in a castle.
Now that his world travels were concluded, he feels reset and ready for 2023.
He equates the loss in the NLDS to the Game 7 loss to Houston in the 2017 WS. He said he was devastated.
He said he will not complain about the playoff system, because he does not have a better solution. It happened, time to concentrate on 2023.
He mentioned that he and Mark Prior have been on some Zoom meetings with pitchers. No names were mentioned, but we already know that Justin Verlander was one of them.
He did volunteer that he (and others) manage with a little more urgency with pitching. Trust the process. Just because the decision did not provide a positive outcome does not mean it was a bad decision.
He also volunteered that offensively they need to think more of:
- Winning 90 feet.
- Spoil pitches
- Take the single.
- Go the other way.
- Hit with 2 outs.
But you cannot just make that happen. This is where I might have differed with Doc. I acknowledge that it is easier said than done, but outside of Freddie Freeman, I did not see that effort. I did see the “Hit Me 500’ Swing”. Maybe something changes.
Doc does not see AF/BG going after an acknowledged closer. He does believe they will add Starting Pitching, and does see them preferring elite pitchers. He jokingly stated that he would like both Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander.
Doc loves Trea, but recognizes that Trea may decide to move on. He volunteered that Gavin Lux is being looked at as the heir apparent.
Miguel Vargas is going to get a long runway next year. He is going to play a lot. No mention of James Outman. Or Michael Busch.
Tyler Anderson will be a huge loss. Somebody is going to need to step up and match his IP. As expected, he stated that Dustin May’s innings will be monitored.
Clayton Kershaw recognizes that he needs to listen to his body, Doc said that it is best to monitor his innings and to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
Doc has the winningest record as a MLB manager with at least 1000 games. His record is 653-381 for a .632 winning percentage.
————-
What was left unsaid. They lost the pitcher (Anderson) with the most IP for LAD in 2022. They will need to monitor IP for May and Kershaw, and acknowledged that Gonsolin was injured and he too may have to have his innings monitored.
————-
I keep reading about the apparent interest the Dodgers have in Mitch Haniger. I am not sure of the fascination, since the Dodgers already have a RH hitting OF, Trayce Thompson. With respect to 2023 projections, Baseball-Reference seems a bit higher on Thompson than Haniger, but FanGraphs seems to favor Haniger. Regardless, the differences are not measurable enough to justify a multi-year contract for Haniger.
Baseball-Reference:
- Thompson – .248/.333/.455/.789 – 331 PA, 14 HR, 29.6% K rate
- Haniger – .246/.309/.444/.752 – 393 PA, 18 HR, 24.4% K rate
FanGraphs:
- Thompson – .220/.302/.440/.742 – 497 PA, 33.3% K rate, 2.0 fWAR, 109 wRC+
- Haniger – .251/.323/.450/.773 – 609 PA, 23.3% K rate, 2.1 fWAR, 118 wRC+
Thompson plays CF while Haniger is strictly a corner OF.
- Haniger – MLBTradeRumors projects – 3 years $39MM ($13MM AAV)
- Benintendi – MLBTradeRumors – 4 years $54MM ($13.5MM AAV)
- Thompson – Projected arbitration $1.7MM
————-
I will be driving to SF Valley Friday. Once I get in town, I will be fully involved in watching the PAC 12 Championship Game. My Trojans need to win and will be in the College Football Playoffs. Not bad after going 4-8 in 2021, firing a nice man but horrible head coach (Clay Helton), and hiring the best college head coach in the NCAA (Lincoln Riley). Nice one year turn around. Fight On!
I have a funeral to attend on Saturday, and will be driving home on Sunday. Thus, I am not sure when I will find the time to write another post. I may try to come up with something in the interim. I will continue to make a plea for anyone out there who would like to write a post from time to time, to help Rob and me. If anyone is interested, please reach out to me at jeffdominique@hotmail.com.
You buried the lede!
He (Roberts) also acknowledged he recently lied to the press about something.
He also made a couple of references and allusions to Judge playing right and Mookie moving to 2nd.
“If character is a driving force for some”…
If players aren’t getting votes because of character issues then why don’t players with good characters get more consideration. If there is a ying why isn’t there a yang.
What is ying?
It’s a lot like yin and used by people who yanged the spelling out of their ass.
Yin is Chinese for darkness. Yang is sunlight. In Chinese philosophy yin is negative, dark and feminine. Yang is positive bright and masculine. Good luck running that by today’s PC police.
Going existential!
I like it Jacob.
I don’t know who said it but I like the way it reads:
”The Hall of Fame’s ballots stipulate that the candidates are supposed to display “integrity” and “character,” which some voters took as sufficient to disqualify Schilling.”
Im fine with any of those other guys.
Happy for Roberts I guess. He’s living the good life.
Thompson Haniger? Really? Choose.
Lux at short? At first thought, yeah sure. Upon further reflection, I think he could be an All Star at second, but not at short. It’s possible for the Dodgers to have a 3/4 of an All Star up the middle defense. Sign Bogaerts. Re-sign Bellinger and fix him and it could be 4/4. That would be fun.
“He also volunteered that offensively they need to think more of:
Where has that been? Those are strategies we worked on in high school.
What’s old is new again. Hey Badger, we’re new again!
That list sounds to me like Vargas will be one of its leading proponents. I just hope they stick with him if he gets off to a slow start.
If Betts winds up at 2nd base then the outfield would be RF Outman, CF Thompson, and LF Taylor. Given that scenario, the Dodgers might want to add what might be called insurance or depth one of Hanigar, Drury, or Pollock. Among those three, I think Drury would be best in that he can also provide insurance for Vargas at 3rd.
Betts was only mentioned in moving to 2nd in reference to Judge and it wasn’t absolute.
It was mentioned as an option, not a direct result.
If the rule you followed led you to this of what use was the rule?
Cant beat no country for old men!
MLBTR reporting that the Dodgers and the Giants are interested in Kolten Wong. I also read something somewhere, and no, I am not looney tunes, that if that happened, they would consider moving Lux to third, which in my mind would be a total disaster. He has trouble enough making the throw from second. He would be the second coming of Steve Garvey if he moved to third.
There is an abundance of jabber about this. The problem appears to be we lost a 5 WAR shortstop. The solution is not to move people around in attempt to cover the loss, the solution, in my opinion, is to hire another 5 WAR shortstop. There are a few solutions just sitting there waiting for a large market organization to make an offer. So, make the offer.
We also need pitching. We can address that after we solve SS. And by the way, if the Dodgers decide on Lux at short, better sign Rodón AND Verlander.
I take it that neither throws sinkers.
Strike outs and pop ups. Lots of them.
I’m also thinking of the Wins lost without a 5 WAR SS. We’ll need those Wins from somewhere. We do the pitching thing pretty well, so, get more better pitching.
I think you got it from Anthony Franco at MLBTR.
I think this was Franco writing something and then thinking better of it, but not erasing it. I doubt that there is any serious LAD player personnel exec who thinks Gavin Lux is a realistic long term solution for a MLB 3B. Although, the computer geeks may have come up with an algorithm where it makes sense.
Between 400 and 500 migrant workers died during the preparations for this year’s World Cup, according to a Qatari official.
FIFA awarding Qatari the World Cup makes Manfred’s handling of Bauer look straightforward.
Hey Jeff,
I don’t want to share my personal email, so I’m going to put a post up below. Without being overly self-important, if you want to take it down and publish it later feel free.
Jay Jaffe Chat:
Farhandrew Zaidman At what point do we seriously consider saying that Kershaw’s career is greater than Koufax’s? Higher career WAR, lower ERA, more IP, more Ks….
Jay Jaffe: Some people are already willing to say it. Even Bill Plaschke https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-30/dodgers-clayto…. What Koufax did from 1962-66 was incredible, but it’s important to understand how favorable the conditions were for him; Dodger Stadium was Death Valley for hitters in the early 1960s. Kershaw has been successful against better competition under more adverse conditions for much longer.
Thorn What has to happen for Pete Rose to be inducted?
Jay Jaffe Rob Manfred would need to be replaced by That Shouty Guy Who Wants to Give You Gambling Tips During Drive Time… I think Hell will freeze over first.
copecru81 Mookie already has more WAR than Tony Oliva and almost as much as Enos Slaughter, both RF HOFers. Will he get in the HOF before Dwight Evans and Bobby Abreu who have more WAR? (but less WAR7)
Jay Jaffe Mookie is most likely on his way to Cooperstown. I think Evans will be there some day but I’m less optimistic about Abreu.
Baseball America’s Top prospects for every team ($$$$) hasn’t got to the Dodgers yet, but they do the Red Sox! marcelo Mayer baby!
https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/1003/boston-red-sox/organizational/?year=2023&type=P
Davy Andrews goes super-nerd to find out which defensive outfielders got lucky and who didn’t
nd no one got luckier this year than Gold Glove winner Mookie Betts. He saw fewer 5-star chances than we’d expect and….
Baseball America previews the Rule V draft ($$$%$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2022-major-league-baseball-rule-5-draft-preview-version-40/
Adolfo Ramirez, Gus Varland, Ryan Noda, Devin Mann and Ramos all make the cut.
Dan Szymborski Chat
Guest: Its a Dan good day when we can read your chats! In your opinion is correa or turner a better fit for LA (with Xander being option 2 to 1A/B)?
Dan Szymborski: Correa, I think there are reasons to like both as players, but Correa, you *know* he’s very likely to have full buy-in with the Dodgers and their nerdiness.
Bomber: Odds LA Dodgers sign one of the big 4 SS’s?
Dan Szymborski: 2-7
Jonathan: Wild guess: how many years ahead of public-facing baseball research (I know, a gigantic umbrella with lots of subjects) is the weakest MLB analytics group, and how many years ahead is the strongest?
Dan Szymborski: I’m not sure I’d call it a point on a spectrum like in a race, because there are some things that the public focuses on that teams really don’t because that stuff is wildly solved. Like as far as I know, teams dont’ put a ton of effort in mean projections. Where teams are really ahead is injury/biomechanics stuff and a lot of that is they have specific internal data. One advantage of public research is that you can go searching for stuff teams aren’t necessarily looking at because they’re “locally” focused on their organization…When I do something really out there like predicting how Rowdy Tellez would do at short, that’s the stuff I get calls about!
The great FutureDodgers on Twitter envisions “Frasso, Sheehan, Nastrini, and Rushing” as the guys he’d/she’d pick first to join the next Prospect top 100 list.
Esteban Rivera on the Dodgers signing Shelby Miller
Pitch shape is a sticky trait. And I don’t mean sticky in the spider tack way; rather, sticky in that the trait would hold year over year without volatile fluctuation. When evaluating a small sample, teams and analysts must decide what traits are worth betting on and which are just potential blips in a player’s profile. Depending on the team, there are varying levels of confidence in assessing that predicament and turning it into action. In the case of the Dodgers, there is a demonstrated confidence in their assessments that leads them to take on some risk, but they have no issue in turning that risk into a realized success….
The LA Times’ Juan Toribo says:
Dodgers are among a long list of teams showing interest in former All-Star closer Alex Reyes.
Reyes missed last season due to injuries but was one of the best relievers in the NL when healthy in 2021.
Passan:
Right-handed reliever Chris Martin and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $17.5 million contract, pending physical, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Martin, 36, was magnificent for the Dodgers after a deadline trade and parlayed it into a multiyear deal.
We can end the Kolten Wong to the Dodgers discussion. Just traded to Seattle for Winker and Toro.
Bye bye Chris Martin – 2 year deal with the Red Sox. Damn!
Anybody else feel like we’d be more than willing to trade Chris Taylor, great guy and all?
Bumsrap will volunteer to drive him to the airport if you can get the deal done.
Not during rush hour.
I’m having trouble keeping track of Bumsrap, Bluto & Badger? Are they all the same person?
Hmmm, Bumsrap, Bluto, Badger, Burch, stBlue. To B or not to B is not to question.
Bear
I knew a Dionysus at Chico State. Not a bear, but a big hit at parties.
We’re brothers.
Badger is the one with the understated sense of humor.
Bumsrap is the one with the crazy trades.
Bluto? Not really sure how to describe him except to say he’s indescribable.
To further confuse the issue, Bumsrap’s name is Fred, but not Fred Vogel, who is another Fred who comments here.
And then there’s Jeff Dominique, the head honcho around here, and I’m another Jeff D., but not on here.
I hope that helps, Jacob.
?
OK folks, follow along with me here.
Last winter, after having had his career go into the toilet, Matt Carpenter trained with Matt Holliday during the off season and then had an incredible comeback season with the Yankees.
Now, Cody is doing the same thing. He’s working out with Holliday, who happens to be the new bench coach for the Cardinals. I don’t know if the Cards need another outfielder (they certainly don’t need a first baseman), but everyone knows that even if Judge returns, the Yankees need a centerfielder and Cody’s dad played for the Yanks.
Here’s a link. He already looks better to me.
He looks a lot better already.
Still standing vertical and who knows when that dip happens in relation to the pitch.
One swing, in a cage, in tennis shoes, against a batting practice pitcher.
I don’t see much difference. I still say look at Trout’s swing and duplicate it. Also get in the weight room and add some fast twitch muscle.
He would like that right field fence.
Maybe we get him back for $12 million and he can put up 2 WAR and be a bargain.
deGrom is signing with the Rangers. 5 years/$185MM with a full no trade.
Optional 6th year would bring the deal to 222 mil.
5 years? O/U – 100 starts?
Average of 20 starts per year? Since his last three years have been 12, 15, and 11. I am going with the under.
Me too.
They must figure he’s good to go. Frankly with his history I’m with STB, I think he’s a TJ waiting to happen. He’s 35 in June. Glad he went to the AL.
Over, but not by much. You have to figure he misses a year for TJ.
This puts Justin Verlander firmly in the discussion with NYM. After losing deGrom, they will not be shy about giving Verlander that 3rd year.
Or they could trade for Bauar if they don’t get Verlander 🤷
Bauer will probably still be fighting his suspension.
This is like one gigantic chess match. Not too many mentions were made before today about Verlander and the Mets because everyone thought deGrom was probably going back there.
Verlander is ecstatic because he now has the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets probably all waiving money at him. If even two of those teams stick around, the bidding will get fierce. It may well be that AF is the first to drop out.
The Mets have lost 3/5 of their rotation so will probably be hot and heavy on both Rodon and Senga. Will AF join that party? Those two will each be cheaper than JV on an AAV basis.
Brewers put out the word today that they will not be trading Burnes, Woodruff or Adames. But of course, we don’t have to believe them.
Bassitt, anyone?
And here’s one we haven’t talked about lately. The Rays signed Eflin yesterday. Maybe they’d like to get rid of that Tyler Glasnow contract.
I’m almost positive the Mets will sign Rodon. Syndergaard is someone I’d be interested in for us.
“Syndergaard is someone I’d be interested in for us.”
Me too.
He was paid $21m last year. Will he take less? Will he take considerably less?
I thought Eflin would be a good pickup.
I still believe Milwaukee will keep their best players.
I’m fine with Bassit but of course hope we land JV on our Varsity.
Speaking of the varsity, USC doesn’t stay in their lanes and it doesn’t matter because they can’t tackle. Add to that Williams is clearly injured.
MLBTR reports that the Brewers will hang on to Adames, Woodruff and Burnes at least into the season. They could all be traded at the deadline if the Brewers are in the tank. But, I would think someone is going to have to eat Yelich’s contract to get one of their pitchers.
Or Rodon
Somebody should check on Jeff.
What I am about to say won’t soothe Jeff but then USC is no longer my favorite college football team. It used to be but I gradually was able to root for whichever team in the Pac 10 had the best chance to be ranked the highest. Now I am a pure Oregon State fan.
So I am biased when I say that OSU should have beaten USC. They had a good lead and their quarterback unnecessarily forced passes into tight coverage and was intercepted enough times to give USC the win. A young quarterback mistake.
OSU should have beaten WA as well but on 4th and goal on the 2 yard line went for the touchdown instead of the field goal. They did that twice and both times came away without scoring. They could have had 6 points worth of field goals and wound up losing by 3.
OSU could have easily been 11 – 1 instead of 9 – 3. Utah beat OSU soundly. USC was not the best team in the Pac 12. Would USC have looked stronger against Utah if their ACE quarterback had not been injured? For sure.
After my Bruins beat Utah and SC beat my Bruins I thought SC would easily handle Utah. Good thing I don’t gamble (anymore).
Williams doesn’t get hurt I think they win.
I used to root for the spoiled children in my youth. Mostly to aggravate my Bruin dad. College football has a screwed up system. But then again so does baseball.
I too was/am a UCLA fan. Not being a spoiled child, I most definitely couldn’t afford USC. As an adult I’ve been a Pac 8-10-12-10 fan. To see them eat their own every freakin year is getting old.
I was definitely not a spoiled child. I was totally on my own, and needed loans. My parents paid for nothing. I needed to get away from them to survive (literally).
I am not as tired of the Pac 12 getting fleeced as I am USC. They had everything in front of them. They were in the playoffs, all they had to do was win. I did not see the game, but friends called and told me that Caleb Williams was reading too much Heisman press and not concentrating on the game. I guess he thought that he could paint f*** Utah on his nails and the Utes would surrender. I knew the defense would be bad, but I really did not expect a Lincoln Riley coached team to get that cocky.
Oh well. I never expected the Trojans to be 11-1 after the regular season. So a Championship game was extra special. I just hate to get that far and flush it away. I will read the autopsy reports when I get back home.
Now back to the Dodgers. Who will be the next domino to fall? How long do the Dodgers need to wait until José Iglesias, Michael Wacha, and Kevin Kiermaier fall to them. 😁
“My parents paid for nothing. I needed to get away from them to survive (literally)”
Me too. I joined the Marines. You went to a private university. Clearly you were SC material and I wasn’t.
I saw the game. Williams had 76 yards rushing in the first quarter. He doesn’t pull a hammy they win. After that he couldn’t run well at all and had difficulty planting. It changed everything. The defense, which has been bad all year, was awful from the second quarter on. They didn’t cover their gaps and just couldn’t tackle. At the end they were groping for the ball trying to create turnovers instead of getting the man down. It was described accurately in the Athletic as looking like a Benny Hill comedy sketch. It was embarrassing. Utah averaged 7.7 yards per play. Washington and Oregon are on the schedule next year. SC better beef up this winter or it’s going to happen again.
Do those players you mentioned actually help the Dodgers that much? Iglesias might. He was much better on the road. His projections aren’t all that. 1.2 WAR last year. 33. Decent defense. What does he cost? If it’s a lot I think I’d just go with Lux. Or, sign Bogaerts.
I do not expect any of them to be game changers. It is just how my cynical mind works. I think they like the challenge of “fixing” players. Freddie and Bauer only 9 figure deals, and they may learning from the Bauer debacle. Next highest non-LAD contract, Pollock, 5 years $60MM. I do not believe any of the 4 SS will be signed by LAD, Lux and Muncy at SS/2B. Maybe that is why Kershaw has not signed. 😄
Lux and Muncy up the middle. Seems so less than when there are All World shortstops right there for the taking. If it goes that way I can’t help but find it disappointing.
Nevermind.
Ok
Something in the Way is the best song on that album.
Underneath the bridge, tarp has sprung a leak
And the animals I’ve trapped, have all become my pets
And I’m living off of grass, and the drippings from the ceiling
It’s okay to eat fish ’cause they don’t have any feelings
Something in the way, mmm
Something in the way, yeah, mmm
Something in the way, mmm
I’m a Cal alum, so I don’t pay attention to college football.
Reynolds has advised the Pirates that he wants to be traded.
Trade Simulator says: Busch, Pepiot, Pages – who here says yes to that? Who says no?
Although I’m not sure I’d do it, that strikes me as a fair deal for both sides.
Stop with the crazy trades STB.
First I would keep Pepiot until and if they sign Verlander. Second Pages has a chance to embarrass to Dodgers if he is traded. Third, hell yes offer Busch plus, oh, I don’t know.
Stop with the crazy trades? The pot calling the kettle black. 😂
And it wasn’t my trade, it was the Simulator.
Here’s a good one: Reynolds for Busch, CT3 and Muncy. I bet you sign on to that one.
I’ll start by saying up front I don’t want to trade Miller, and though I view Outman as a good start for the Pirates, the trade simulator doesn’t like him (or Muncy). Pages and Miller just about does it. Throw in a low level high ceiling pitcher or catcher (we have a few of those that would no doubt interest Pittsburgh) and they might bite. Would I do it? I don’t know. Maybe. I really like Miller.
Call me wrong, but I’d rather give up a pick for a RHB
Example?
I say yes right away which means it’s not enough. Probably need to include Miller. Miller, Outman & Busch?
Cal is QBU. It’s a great team to watch if you don’t expect a W
Seems like a lot, but, ok.
We have no problem coming up with terrific qb’s. It’s the other 10 guys we have to put out there that cause us the problems.
I say yea.
Brian Reynolds requested a trade, I believe
Where is everybody?
Looks like my trade idea stunned this place into silence.
ok, I rescind my offer. I’m gonna sign Nimmo and Iglesias, find a couple repairable RP arms and call it a winter. This will keep is in the running til the deadline where I will have plenty of room for a blockbuster trade.
I was busy wondering if we could trade those guys who are Rule 5 eligible.
And whether Lux can play SS fill-time.
And how we probably need a 3B [Drury?].
I smell a trade a-brewin’ though I don’t what. What could Pages & Pepiot net us?
Betts to 2B makes no sense as then we’d have like no real OFers.