Month: December 2017

Some Preliminary Thoughts on the 2018 Oklahoma City Starting Rotation

Published on by Dennis Schlossman2 Comments
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(Mandatory Credit: Nate Billings/The Oklahoman)

As most Triple-A rosters normally don’t start taking shape until later in the spring when the big league squads become firm, it’s probably a bit too early to take a stab at guessing Oklahoma City‘s 2018 Opening Day starting pitching rotation. However, with the departure of veterans Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir last weekend, the major league rotation is developing earlier than usual, giving us at least some kind of idea as to how most of the system’s starting pitchers fit onto the organizational ladder.

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Dodgers Make Tom Koehler Deal Official

Published on by Dennis SchlossmanLeave a comment
Tom-Koehler
(Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)

Five days after the initial reports surfaced, the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon finally announced the one-year deal of righty swing man Tom Koehler.

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Why a Strong Start Will Benefit Dodgers in 2018

Published on by Sarah ManingerLeave a comment

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World Series hangovers are real. They are the downside, really the only one,  of playing baseball into November. 20 teams out there ended the season a month prior, and yes, those other 10 teams wouldn’t trade the postseason for a month of extra rest, but the effects of October are noticeable. No more noticeable than they are for the two teams that made it all the way to the end. Los Angeles didn’t win, but they played seven games in the World Series. Regardless of the result, that’s enough to incite exhaustion.

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What if the Dodgers Decide to Keep Matt Kemp?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman2 Comments
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(Mandatory Credit: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

In case you haven’t noticed, baseball has changed a lot over the past 25 years.

Analytics have become the driving force of team management, with the ever-evolving Statcast superseding some of the most popular sabermetric tools. And for the common fans with access to computers or smartphones, a simple keystroke allows them to instantly discover when a player is about to be traded, if that player is having an extramarital affair, or even when he is napping in the clubhouse.

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Will Dodgers Pursue Bryce Harper in 2018?

Published on by Andy Lane Chapman8 Comments

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On Saturday, the Dodgers announced that they had traded four players to the Braves in exchange for Matt Kemp. It was a rare trade that worked for both sides, in that both teams got the salary dump they were looking for, plus the Braves got some players that can be useful to them in 2018 and beyond. Yesterday we touched on what it meant to the players that were traded and where it left the roster. But what does it mean for the Dodgers going forward?

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More Thoughts on the Matt Kemp Trade

Published on by Andy Lane Chapman1 Comment

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Just when you think the Dodgers aren’t going to make a deal at all during the winter, they go and make a colossal trade, albeit not what anyone would ever be expecting.

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Dodgers Acquire Matt Kemp from Braves

Published on by Dennis Schlossman11 Comments

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For all the fans who have been patiently waiting, the Dodgers have finally made their grand splash of the winter, acquiring outfielder Matt Kemp from the Braves on Saturday afternoon in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, Charlie Culberson and cash.

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Winter Meetings Come and Go Quietly for Dodgers

Published on by Sarah ManingerLeave a comment
friedman
(Photo by Stephen Carr, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Welcome to December. A time in which the snow starts to fall and holiday shopping is atop many to-do lists. December is also the time when the entirety of baseball convenes at one location for the Winter Meetings. Contrary to its name, the Winter Meetings are when the hot stove is alive and unignorable, like a warm summer day in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.

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Dodgers Reportedly Sign Tom Koehler

Published on by Dennis Schlossman2 Comments
tk
(Mandatory Credit: Gary Landers/AP)

The Dodgers have apparently made their first free agent acquisition of the offseason, signing 31-year-old swing man Tom Koehler to a one-year contract pending a physical.

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Dodgers Bullpen: Putting Together an All-Prospect, All-Righty Relief Crew

Published on by Dennis Schlossman22 Comments
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(Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Davis)

While the Dodgers left the 2017 Winter Meetings with only a consolation prize of a mid-level infield prospect, many fans have taken to social media to express their respective concerns heading into 2018, especially in the area of the bullpen. It took several years for the team to finally find a competent setup man in Brandon Morrow, yet the veteran righty was able to walk away from Los Angeles and land a lucrative deal with the Cubs for the next several seasons. Andrew Friedman and his troops seem fairly confident in the internal relief options heading into 2018 spring training, but questions loom as to whether the impending bullpen will be talented enough to help guide the squad into next season’s playoff picture.

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