The Dodgers Offseason is Becoming Comically Ridiculous

Nobody loves me

 

December 16, 2019

I was going to sit down and write a serious analysis of the Dodgers’ offseason so far. I had a decent amount already typed. Then, in the blink of an eye, Corey Kluber was a Texas Ranger and Madison Bumgarner was an Arizona Diamondback. I started laughing. Hysterically. It seemed like it had only been five minutes since I last googled some Dodger rumors and read articles connecting both of these players to L.A. Then I turn around and they’re both headed elsewhere.

If it feels like that has been the gist of the entire winter for the Dodgers so far, well, it pretty much has been.

Dodger Fans Deserve an Explanation After Team Actively Got Worse This Offseason

February 25, 2019

This is a post I’ve attempted to put off writing for quite some time. So I waited. Waited to see if more moves would be made (they weren’t), waited to see if the Dodgers’ offseason strategy would reveal itself (it hasn’t) and begin to make sense (it doesn’t). With the news that the Dodgers are “back in” on Bryce Harper, likely just as one big final chance for fans to be disappointed as Spring Training begins, now seems like a better time than any. Maybe on a subconscious level I’m hoping that by writing about this now, I’ll reverse jinx a Harper signing into existence, like when I wrote about the reasons the Dodgers “didn’t need” Manny Machado a day before they got Manny Machado. But I digress…

Playoff Hits: Buehler’s Bad Inning Could Benefit Him in Long Run, Doc’s Evolution

Hi, I’d like to return this gift, please

 

October 8, 2018

Going into game 3 last night in Atlanta, it was hard not to feel like the joke was on the Braves. Dodger fans watched as their opponent was shut out in consecutive games to start the series, and oh yeah, by the way, our real ace is actually pitching the third game, shhhh, its a secret. After watching Buehler emerge over the stretch run and pitch the games of his life against St Louis and then Colorado in game 163 to clinch the west, it was easy to feel pretty confident. Despite being Buehler’s first postseason start, we had seen him perform under the pressure of must-win games already, so we knew the moment wouldn’t be too big for him. The bottom of the first inning went quickly, and things it seemed like they were going smoothly.

Then the bottom of the second inning happened.

The Dodgers and The Notion of Going Partially “All-In”

The 9th inning has been…problematic since losing Kenley Jansen

 

August 15, 2018

The Dodgers dropped their 4th straight game tonight since losing Kenley Jansen in a painfully familiar manner, with the loss also marking the 4th straight game decided in the 9th inning. Things are…not fun right now. It feels like the lowest point of the season since losing 7 consecutive games to the Reds and Marlins, leaving the team at 16-26 and Dodger fans scratching their heads. Yesterday’s loss probably hurts the most after watching Clayton Kershaw deliver the type of performance we used to take for granted, yet now haven’t seen in nearly a year. These losses ring exceptionally loud coming off the heels of the loss of Jansen due to heart problems, as well as the team’s trade deadline actions, as it puts the spotlight on the Dodger bullpen yet again.

Front Office’s Faith in Dodgers Bullpen is About to be Severely Tested

Kenley Jansen mirrors Dodger fans’ collective emotions

 

August 11, 2018

With the Dodgers’ biggest need at the 2018 trade deadline generally thought to be bullpen help, Andrew Friedman and company instead doubled down on offense, with major acquisitions Manny Machado and Brian Dozier coming aboard to create a lineup with virtually no holes and an already deep bench becoming a bottomless pit. The only bullpen arm acquired was John Axford, a former closer who is currently far from a reliable key inning type of guy. The moves, or lack thereof, seemed to indicate a faith in the Dodgers current group of relievers either rounding into form or returning to health.

At the time, though not ideal, you could at least talk yourself into the logic, as the bullpen had been pitching relatively well since July and some of the key names were at various stages of returning from the DL. The thing about that plan, however, is that it hinged on having an elite closer in Kenley Jansen there at the end of games to shut the door. Remove Jansen from the equation, and well, an already shaky bridge suddenly becomes a shaky bridge to nowhere.

Do the Dodgers NEED Manny Machado?

Machado kindly demonstrates the lateral movement a deal would provide for L.A.

 

July 16, 2018

The Manny Machado trade rumors have reached their final throes (not that they’ve ever died down) as the All-Star Game looms tomorrow evening. Speculation, proposed packages, handshake deals and everything in between have been posted and tweeted everywhere you look, and just about all of them will be completely wrong when this is all wrapped up. The Dodgers have been part of most speculation from the beginning, with Corey Seager going down for the year and the Orioles emerging as an awful baseball team about as early in the season as was possible. When trying to filter out the noise one common thing about the “reporting” being done on Machado is that the Phillies, Brewers and the Dodgers seem to be the most likely destinations for the All-Star shortstop/third baseman. Machado is certainly a premium player, young, and would be an exciting addition to any squad, but in all of this there’s one huge question about Machado heading to L.A.:

Do the Dodgers really need Manny Machado?

Kemp voted in, Kenley added as All-Stars, Muncy Gets Final Vote Nod

Will these two Dodgers be high-fiving in Washington at the All-Star Game?

 

July 8, 2018

Pending the results of the final vote ballot, the Dodgers will be sending two representatives to this year’s All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington. Rosters were revealed earlier tonight, with Matt Kemp being voted into the starting lineup by the fans (deservedly so) and Kenley Jansen being named to the NL pitching staff.

Red Hot Dodger Offense Will Need to Carry the Team

Joc & Cody’s Excellent Adventure

 

June 8, 2018

The Dodgers’ bats have come alive during their current 15-5 stretch, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Just a few weeks ago, as the offense was languishing and the team appeared to be sinking out of the playoff picture, it seemed like the entire lineup (aside from Matt Kemp) was slumping at the same time. I remember trying to keep myself interested in the team by thinking things like “Hey, they’re all slumping at the same time, so maybe everyone gets hot at the same time.” I didn’t believe it, but I had to find hope somewhere.

Yet here we are, back at .500, back in the race, and it practically has happened. Starting with a series at Coors Field, baseball’s version of hell, the offense has been on fire. Going back to the start of June during the Philadelphia series, the offense has put up run totals of 8, 2, 11, 12, 10, 5, 9, and 8. Not too shabby. And even if some of the explosion is thanks to the altitude in Colorado, you have to think it reminded the team of what hitting felt like and served to boost their confidence as the hot hitting has carried over.

Is Max Muncy the Next Dodger in the Mold of Justin Turner & Chris Taylor?

The Dodgers have shown a penchant for turning other teams’ trash into L.A. gold

 

I have been trying to hold off on writing this post for weeks. I mean really trying. Waiting for things to normalize, for players like Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe to return from injury, as Max Muncy headed back to Oklahoma City with a pat on the back and a thank you from Dave Roberts for putting in the work he did when the team needed him most. Waiting until the name Max Muncy was just a distant memory in a season that has gone wrong in so many ways continued on into the summer months.

Then, Turner and Forsythe were activated from the DL. The team started to turn things around as the rest of the NL West went into a complete nosedive. You figured it was just a numbers game, a roster crunch, and that Muncy would be a victim of too little playing time to give to too many players, and that was that. Back to Oklahoma City where he could get consistent at-bats until he was needed again.

But then a funny thing happened.