Yesterday, Don Mattingly had what I call a “Wu-Tang moment”, inspired by the “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong” skit on Chappelle’s Show. Humorous? Yes, but what it mean to me is that Mattingly basically dropped all the fronts and simply went in on the Dodgers players and front office in surprisingly pointed comments. “We’re in last place in the ... Read More »
The Dodgers signed former Giants and Royals lefty Jonathan Sanchez to a minor-league deal, sending him to the Albuquerque Isotopes. 2:17pm: The Dodgers will sign Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal, according to Pedro Gomez of ESPN (on Twitter). The contract is pending a physical, and Sanchez is likely to report to Triple-A Albquerque. Sanchez is represented by the ... Read More »
The discontent with the Dodgers was loud and clear after yesterday’s loss, and for good reason. The team is last in the NL West, have the sixth-worst record in the MLB, and are tied for the fourth-worst run differential in baseball. It’s a horrible time to be the manager of the Dodgers right now, and we all know it, including ... Read More »
Yesterday, the Dodgers dealt Aaron Harang to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez and effectively cleared room in their bullpen for the return of Chad Billingsley on Wednesday. The Dodgers on Saturday made official their trade of pitcher Aaron Harang and cash to the Rockies for catcher Ramon Hernandez. Oddly enough though, the Rockies designated Harang for assignment immediately, so ... Read More »
Opening Day for the Dodgers is Monday, and since Spring Training feels like it has taken forever, it’s about damn time. Given the closeness of the start of the season though, it’s a bit odd that there are so many question marks as to what will happen with the roster. Every team has to deal with decisions on the 24th ... Read More »
The 2013 projection for the Dodgers from Dan Szymborski‘s ZiPS system was released last week, and given that it’s probably my favorite forecasting tool, it’s worth a look to see how the team fared. Forecasting is not a complete science, obviously, and I’ll address some of the potential pitfalls as we go along, but it’s better to use objective tools ... Read More »
Dodgers fans have assumed for a while now that 2013 would determine how much longer Don Mattingly would be with the club (maybe Ned Colletti as well), and now that’s all but official. Last fall, Mattingly politely asked the club to exercise its one-year option before this final year of his contract. The Dodgers politely refused. He will thus begin ... Read More »
The Dodgers have invited 12 players to their Winter Development Camp, which, after operating for its first five years of existence at Dodger Stadium, will move to Camelback Ranch due to construction at Chavez Ravine. Zach Lee, Joc Pederson, Chris Reed, Onelki Garcia, Paco Rodriguez, Chris Withrow, Steven Ames, Matt Magill, Tim Federowicz, Matt Wallach, and newcomers Jeremy Moore and ... Read More »
So what’s next for the 2012-2013 off-season champion Dodgers? Danny Knobler says Anibal Sanchez has been discussed, but Buster Olney says the Dodgers aren’t going to be signing any more pitchers. As far as Sanchez goes, I’m inclined to believe Olney, because while I believe the team’s budget is comically high, I do believe they have one and that it ... Read More »
The tide has shifted completely in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes with sources now almost universally agreeing that the Rangers are the favorites. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi speculate that their push for Justin Upton is born out of confidence regarding Greinke. The Rangers’ fervent push for Upton, according to one rival executive, is an indication of their confidence in ... Read More »
The Dodgers made an offer to Hyun Jin Ryu, but it was rejected by Scott Boras, according to Ned Colletti. The Dodgers made a long-term offer to Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin on Tuesday, but it was rejected by agent Scott Boras. “Predictably, it fell a tad short,” said general manager Ned Colletti. The Dodgers have until Sunday to sign Ryu ... Read More »
The Dodgers will offer Zack Greinke the most money to sign, according to Jon Heyman, because they have no concept of a budget. The Dodgers have an interesting strategy that’s been employed only rarely: Sign the best, no matter the cost. “They are like theSteinrenner Yankees of the ’70s,” one competing GM said. Rival executives are beginning to wonder of ... Read More »
The Dodgers promoted a number of front office personnel, most notably future GMs (of the Dodgers, I hope) Logan White and De Jon Watson. White will now serve as Vice President Of Scouting, while Watson takes on the role of Vice President Of Player Development. —– Via Eric Stephen, Alfredo Silverio and Ozzie Martinez have signed minor-league contracts and received ... Read More »
Kenley Jansen Kenley Jansen entered 2012 as the set-up man with elite stuff, freed up to face the opponents’ best hitters should they be due up before the ninth inning. It was the perfect scenario, considering the closer role is a vastly overrated entity. Though Jansen was slotted correctly, he quickly found himself as the closer following some early struggles ... Read More »
Clayton Kershaw After Clayton Kershaw‘s 2011 performance, for which he won the Cy Young Award, I wasn’t sure I could be more impressed with him going forward. That’s not to say I was certain he had peaked, but it would no longer come as a surprise to me or anyone else. What impressed me so much about his 2012 season ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting