DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS Thread

Players have already expressed their desire to take down the World Series champion Dodgers, with the most recent being Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel.

“When the lights are on and we play those big games in the middle of season, they’re going to give us their A game, we’re going to try and give ours,” Ginkel said on Foul Territory. “But we can beat those guys.”

 

looks to be the same bs scam as mlbtv
ie local blackouts
scroll down and input your zip code
i put in my old ventura zip and got this…

Live regular season games involving the following Clubs are subject to MLB.TV blackouts in the specified zip code:

• Los Angeles Angels
• Los Angeles Dodgers

Back for the 2025 season, eligible Spectrum Internet and Mobile customers in the LA Dodgers Home Television Territory can watch over 140 regular season Dodger games live or on demand.

Due to certain Major League Baseball exclusivities, select regular season, special event and Postseason games are unavailable on MLB.TV domestically and internationally. For a full list of unavailable games, territories, and channels please click here

On Demand archives available 90 minutes after the conclusion of games. Live audio of the games that are unavailable (such games listed here) is available to customers within At Bat, which is included with all MLB.TV subscriptions.

In addition, note:

• Home television territory blackout restrictions apply regardless of whether a Club is home or away and regardless of whether or not a game is televised in a Club's home television territory.
• Clubs located within the United States may be subject to home television territory blackout restrictions that may expand to outside of the United States.
• All San Francisco Giants and Athletics live games will be blacked out in the U.S. territory of Guam.

If you think we have inaccurately determined your home television territory blackout restrictions, you may call Customer Service at 866-244-2291 (US) and 315-203-6761 (International).

 

Here's my bold prediction of the spring: The hated Gnats finish ahead of SD on the season.

While trying to not place too much value on spring stats, I will say that Webb, Ray, and Verlander all look dialed-in, while Adames, Chapman, and other hitters are also looking good. In particular, remember Jung Hoo Lee failed to impress last year, but as the Dodgers are warning with Kim, it takes a while for the Korean ballplayers to acclimate to the faster pitching speeds in MLB, and so far he's looking more comfortable than he did last year in ST games.

Just my thoughts. I wouldn't put money on it, because Padres still have more talent on paper, but they're a mess and it wouldn't surprise me if it plays out this way.

 

It's interesting to read that the Dodgers chose to put Kershaw on the 15-day DL instead of the anticipated 60. It may mean nothing, but also could be that they have reason to believe he's further along than originally expected and want to keep the option open to bring him back early if needed.

 

Well, so much for my thinking.

 

This is mind boggling...

The best athletes use endorsement deals to supplement their salaries. Bryce Harper, for example, earns an estimated $10M per year in endorsements. Soto is at $7M.

Of course we know that Ohtani's popularity in Japan gets him paid, but do you realize just how much? He will earn an astonishing $100M in endorsements this year! No wonder he doesn't mind deferring his salary. Here's my source: https://sports.yahoo.com/article/shohei-ohtani-100-million-man-164345706.html

To further put it into perspective, I thought I'd look up how much some other big stars earn in endorsements:

Judge - $6M
Trout - $5M
Seager - $4M
Yamamoto - $5M
Scherzer - $2M
Cole - 2M
Altuve - $2.5M
Kershaw - $1M

So Ohtani earns more than double what these other ten stars earn, combined. And I'd imagine that his endorsement earning power will only continue to grow annually from here. Oh, and he still has $698M of his $700M salary coming to him over the next twenty years. Signing with the Dodgers was huge! Not that he wouldn't still be popular if he was somewhere else, but the LA factor has to be a significant contributor.

By the way in other sports, Lebron at $80M in endorsements is at least in the ballpark, while Tiger Woods at $55M and Mahomes at $25M are further back.

 

Urias will be eligible to sign with a team after the AS break. I'm actually surprised it's not longer.

Will be interesting to see if any team signs him while they're avoiding Bauer like the plague. I know there are team chemistry concerns with Bauer, but would players welcome the two-time domestic abuser Urias to their team with no reservations?

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...ond-time-under-mlbs-domestic-violence-policy/

 

I could be 100% wrong on this, I don't know, it's just the impression I get. His raw talent alone was enough to get him through AA and AAA. Then he gets called up and makes a little money and his focus is on his image and his bling, etc. Talent alone is no longer enough, and without a total commitment on improving his game, he settles in to being just a mediocre player.