DODGERS 2017 NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

Frosting and Ice Cream dont show up on scans?

 

i no longer question the brains that brought us chris taylor... for zach lee
freeman has only 58 mlb plate appearances but has done really well in aaa
and heston obviously has skills, maybe honeycutt can get him sorted out

 

was thinking the same earlier
i get the feeling our guys aren't the least bit worried
they have the postseason experience, the veterans, they know they'll be there in the end
colorado has won 9/12, arizona 9/10...
and yet the dodgers aren't concerned
almost get the feeling they're looking back at us thinking, "fuck, those guys don't give up!"
watch what happens when they lose 9/12 (or 9/10)... they'll crumble
because they know they're not built for the long run
our team, on the other hand, is -- and has the capabilities (ie resources) to add someone if necessary
look how they reacted last year when kersh went down
our top three starters are solid
our bullpen has been solid
imagine how we'll do if gonzo has turned a corner and hatcher has figured shit out
even better when turner comes back
looking at the glass half full, sure
but imo a lot to be optimistic about

 

what's with all this doomsday shit?
we're barely 30% into the season, and only 2½ games back -- and this after arizona has won 9/10, and colorado 9/12
if a 2½ deficit seems too daunting to overcome, then you should take comfort in knowing that we lead the 2nd wild card spot by 3½ games
btw arizona will not continue to win at a 90% rate, nor will colorado at 75%

 

The friendly rivalry between Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman, with Cubs and Dodgers becoming NL superpowers
by Patrick Mooney | CSN Chicago — 9 hours ago

LOS ANGELES – A man stepped to the microphone during a Q&A session at Cubs Convention and called Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman “the two boy geniuses.” The fan told Epstein how his friends used to call the Dodgers baseball boss “your Mini-Me,” asking about their personal rivalry and if beating L.A. in the playoffs had any extra meaning.

“We have a friendly rivalry,” Epstein told a packed hotel ballroom in downtown Chicago in January. “First off, didn’t he interview for an internship with us and we turned him down way back in the day?

“And then like nine months later, he was GM of the Rays. When he was with Tampa and I was with Boston, we never spoke, because we were in the same division. It was kind of a heated rivalry. We literally never called each other on trades or anything like that.”

But where it’s so difficult for the small-market Rays to keep up with the ultra-rich Red Sox – and replace Friedman’s vision and Joe Maddon’s star power and survive a string of wasted first-round draft picks and find a long-term stadium solution – the Cubs and Dodgers are positioned to be superpowers for years to come.

That’s what makes this Memorial Day weekend showdown at Dodger Stadium so compelling beyond the National League Championship Series rematch. It’s not just upcoming free agent Jake Arrieta returning to the site of his onesie no-hitter on Friday night, a reigning MVP (Kris Bryant) and Rookie of the Year (Corey Seager), two of the best closers on the planet (Wade Davis and Kenley Jansen) and a classic Jon Lester vs. Clayton Kershaw matchup on Sunday afternoon.

The Cubs eliminated the Dodgers less than a month after Epstein finalized a five-year contract worth in the neighborhood of $50 million, likely surpassing Friedman as the game’s highest-paid personnel executive.

“Jed developed a pretty good relationship with him, because I didn’t like talking to him,” Epstein said, referencing GM Jed Hoyer, another Boston transplant on the Cubs Convention panel that day. “But then when I came out here with the Cubs, a different league and everything, I developed a much better relationship with Andrew and we became friends, so now it’s much more of a friendly rivalry.

“I will say that losing to the Dodgers would have been a bitter pill to swallow on a number of fronts, including that one. But they’re developing a powerhouse out there.

“We see them as a team we have to go through each year to get where we want to be.”

Backed by Guggenheim Partners’ financial muscle and flush with new TV money, the Dodgers have won four straight division titles and 90-plus games each season while ramping up a farm system that’s now ranked fourth, fifth or sixth by Baseball America, ESPN and MLB.com.

“Everyone’s got their own style and their own approach,” Epstein said. “Ours was more kind of bottom-up (where) they needed to keep it rolling at a high level in the big leagues while retooling their system and nurturing the talent that was already there.

“We had to go out and transact and bring some stuff in. We were at different points of the success cycle. They’ve done a really nice job of winning while kind of establishing something new at the same time.”

The blue-blooded franchise that produced 17 Rookie of the Year winners last month rolled out Cody Bellinger, a 21-year-old, left-handed first baseman/outfielder with nine homers in his first 28 games in The Show. Julio Urias – who might be the next Fernando Valenzuela – is supposed to be conserving some innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City for another October where the Cubs could be standing in the way of the Dodgers’ first World Series title since 1988.

“They’ve been producing great young talent for a long period of time,” Epstein said. “If you go back and look at some of the young studs they have in the big leagues that (former scouting director) Logan White and (the previous regime) brought in, some of the guys are still coming.

“They’re stocked and the Dodger tradition runs really deep. With Andrew and his front office, we know they’re going to be dynamic. They’re going to have more resources than anyone. And they’re a big threat to the whole league for a long period of time.”