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After observing an offseason managerial change, a near total makeover to the coaching staff, and a few tweaks in terms of player personnel, fans across Dodgertown began the 2016 regular season with a fresh attitude and a revived sense of enthusiasm.
Continue reading “Weighing the Options of Improving the Dodgers Bullpen”
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After a seemingly endless seven years in the Chicago White Sox farm system, Dodgers’ rookie Trayce Thompson is finally living his dream as a starting outfielder, and if his early performances are any indication of the future, may conceivably stick to the big league, 25-man roster over the long haul.
With both Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke on the 15-day disabled list suffering back problems, Thompson was the easy choice for the starting nod in left field. Even when lefty-killer Enrique Hernandez is inserted into the outfield lineup to get his share of hacks, Thompson can be shifted to any of the three outfield spots, as his defense is undoubtedly the strongest point of his game.
Continue reading “Trayce Thompson Amidst Immense Career Chance”
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Although he’s still not yet close to any type of official rehab assignment, the Dodgers remain confident that hard-throwing righty Frankie Montas will recover fully from surgery, and hope that he’ll make an impact at the big league level at some point during the 2016 season.
Continue reading “Dodgers Eager to See Frankie Montas Compete”
All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good timeLe Freak – Chic
Remember last Monday? When the Dodgers scored 15 runs, Kershaw threw seven innings of shutout ball allowing only one hit, and all was right with the world? Here we are a mere week later, and all those good feelings have gone away. Coming off losing three of four to the Giants, one of which included Ross Stripling being pulled from his no-hitter in the 7th to see the lead gone in two pitches, one can only think that the Dodgers season is doomed, done, over. Time to pack it in, forget that there are 155 games left to go.
Continue reading “Ahhhhhhh…….Freak Out! (le Freak, c’est Chic)”
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Just one day after the bullpen managed to collaborate and shutout San Francisco, the entire relief corps looked to be lethargic on Sunday surrendering three critical runs, as the Dodgers lost to the Giants, 9-6. Los Angeles managed just one win in the four-game series, dropping to 4-3 overall.
Starter Scott Kazmir was pulled from the game early after only four innings of work, having allowed six earned runs and seven hits, three of which included home runs. Kazmir was afforded the luxury of a five-run lead in the first inning, but couldn’t quite maintain any positive momentum or effectiveness in his second outing of the season.
Continue reading “Dodgers Bullpen: J.P. Howell’s Sinker Appears Lifeless”
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In two separate transactions Saturday morning, the Dodgers signed veteran lefty reliever Sean Burnett to a minor league deal, while placing outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a sore lower back.
Continue reading “Dodgers Sign Lefty Reliever, Place Crawford on 15-Day DL”
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If setup man Chris Hatcher would have successfully shutdown the Giants in the eighth inning of Friday night’s game, and Kenley Jansen enter the ninth to strikeout the side in trademark fashion, the Dodgers’ decision to remove rookie Ross Stripling amidst a no-hit bid through 7-1/3 innings would be considerably less controversial.
Instead, baseball writers and pundits across the country thrived on the outcome, composing articles with hypothetical finishes until the wee hours of the morning, ultimately questioning manager Dave Roberts‘ decision to not let Stripling finish what he started.
Continue reading “Dodgers Bullpen: Two Games Do Not a Season Make”
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After battling nagging injuries that left them off the Opening Day roster, Yasmani Grandal and Howie Kendrick have begun their respective rehab assignments, and barring any major setbacks, expect to be part of the Dodgers’ 25-man roster for the home opener against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Both players took part in minor league action on Thursday night. Kendrick appeared as the designated hitter for High-A Rancho Cucamonga at Lake Elsinore, while Grandal caught seven innings for Oklahoma City in Nashville.
Continue reading “Grandal, Kendrick Preparing for Dodgers’ Home Opener”
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It’s a bit too early in the season to provide detailed analysis or insightful predictions about any players in the Dodgers‘ organization, but if the first two games against the Padres were indicators of what’s in store, the new version of Yasiel Puig that we’re seeing has the potential of contributing to the team in a huge kind of way.
Originally, the working title of this short, little editorial was intended to be something like “Yasiel Puig Showing Glimpses of Old Self,” however, truth be told, there are a few characteristics that we’re seeing from Puig that have either been invisible or never existed in the past.
Continue reading “Dodgers Welcome New and Improved Yasiel Puig”
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Having pulled away from the Padres with an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dodgers wasted no time in making their first substitution of the 2016 campaign on Monday, moving left fielder Carl Crawford to the bench in favor of the versatile Trayce Thompson.
It seems like every other word uttered about the Dodgers these days is “depth.” Sure, the Dodgers are very deep in terms of having a very talented organizational pool of players, however, the number of seasoned veterans on the field with both fine leadership skills and World Series experience are few and far between.
Continue reading “Dodgers Prioritizing Health of Carl Crawford”
Think Blue Planning Committee 