Dodger Talk

haven't seen any of the Dodgers spring training

 

Yeah. How would we. Bleep holes. Wasting two of legend Vin Scully's last seasons with no TV coverage.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...o-six-year---62-5-million-deal-180829999.html

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Cuban infielder Hector Olivera to a six-year, $62.5 million deal, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The deal will include a $28 million signing bonus. The contract is currently pending a physical, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.


The Dodgers interest in Olivera should not come as a surprise. The team has been rumored as a heavy favorite to sign the infielder for months now. Los Angeles has been extremely active on the Cuban market in recent years, bringing in Yasiel Puig, Alex Guerrero and Pablo Millan Fernandez (among others) in recent seasons.

[]

What may come as a surprise is the price and length of the contract. Olivera's deal is the fourth-highest given to a Cuban player. There have been some questions regarding Olivera's medicals, as Jeff Passan reported in March that Olivera could have a damaged UCL in his throwing arm. If that report is true, there's a chance Olivera could undergo Tommy John surgery, which would knock him out for an entire season.

That would be a significant blow, as Olivera will turn 30 as the season begins. While he's considered major-league ready, it's unclear whether he has a spot on the Dodgers right now. Olivera has experience at both second and third base, but those positions are occupied by Howie Kendrick and Juan Uribe right now. Both players are set to become free agents following the season, so Olivera could easily slide into a starting role in 2016. .... (rest of article in link)

That is a lot of cash to throw at a guy who may not even be able to play cause of surgery

 

Yeah it sucks that when the Dodgers' TV rights were sold, there was no clear demand of how the games would be watched. Then TWC thought they could fleece everyone by upcharging, but that didn't work, and now they've lost $1 billion the last year (or so I've heard). Hah hah!

Fortunately, as Comcast is buying out TWC, they are demanding that TWC drop the price of their SNLA subscription. So HOPEFULLY we'll get something soon.

In the meantime, everyone, you can still get all Spring Training games on MLB.tv, and when the season starts, get a VPN to avoid blackouts!!!

 

I'm so happy for the Olivera signing. No, he's probably not Cano level, but he's still a 5-tool player that can do .300 with 15-20 dingers a year AND play good defense! On top of the fact that the 3B free agent class next Winter is a complete joke.

As far as his arm goes, Friedman planned it perfectly. We don't need him this year. So get the surgery if need be, be out 8-9 months, and be ready full-time next year. Batters come back faster from UCL tears than pitchers. We got our free agent 3B for 2016 and beyond, even if it means missing 2015 (which doesn't matter because $11M is nothing anymore!)

My only concern is that from watching his videos, his feet placement isn't consistent, which may lead to ankle trouble, but if anything is wrong, it'll be fixed anyway since we have great coaches.

 

Yeah I'm sick of it, too. Even last year, we only got to watch the games AFTER they clinched their division, if I remember correctly. I'll still support my team, though, just not TWC. My situation is different than yours, though, since I don't have cable, so I don't feel the burn as much as most other people. MLB.tv is just another subscription to me.

If I'm not mistaken, aren't there a handful of other teams that are also shut out by their networks? It's madness!!

 

I read an article the other day the TWC is going to lose a Billion on this already since the other companies didn't budge on their demands. I moved to Wa state so I won't get the games anyway unless I get them on line. This region doesn't have NHL ticket, MLB ticket or NBA league pass. My brain is in shock here.

 

I think it was a Yahoo article. I'll try to find it again but in simplistic (that I could understand) terms I think TWC wagered the would get basically $5 per viewer (or something like that) but it is now est that they will get $3 which equates to a Billion lost. There is some recoup of that from what I understand but still that is a huge blow even for a major corps to lose out on that from being greedy.

 

Yea it is crazy to think that a business model was set up to over-estimate by THAT much. I mean baseball is a 162 games that means fans, while passionate, will come and go during the season. Basketball is half that and so it is easier to get fans on board to watch all the games. Football is 1/10 of that so it gets watched more. Whatever they were thinking somebody is probably getting fired. Dodgers keep butts in the seats all season and lead MLB in attendance but strong-arming the game is gonna cost a lot more than a single Billion if it goes on longer.

 

OPENING DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I would have made an earlier post, but the site was down half the day. :/ Well, looks like it's back up, so I'll make a post-game review, but also still previewing the season!

What can I say. Jimmy Rollins. The man, just a professional. Him and Kendrick. That defense. The clutch hits. People are worried we don't have Hanley or Dee Gordon anymore, but man, this is better, and it's only the beginning.

Good to see A-Gon hitting well, just as steady as he can be. Puig will get it done; I'm not too worried. He is so much more mature now, I really think this could be his year.

Pederson had a couple of good at-bats. He, too, is so much more mature than last year. Love it. The new regime, the veteran presence, the professional swagger, etc... it's all rubbing off on him.

Will Uribe regress to his early Dodger years? We'll see. Hey, glad we signed Hector Olivera, aren't we?

Kershaw doing his best, but rough day, especially with new Dodger-killer Matt Kemp. Kemp won't be so lucky tomorrow!

Our bullpen, though. Really glad to see them pitch well. How often did that happen last year? We can actually come from behind and win ball games this year. How often did THAT happen last year???

Great win today, really looking forward to tomorrow!

 

Let's see what I can predict this year:

1) .285, 13 HR - Jimmy Rollins

2) .290, 22 HR - Yasiel Puig

3) .300, 25 HR - Adrian Gonzalez

4) .310, 10 HR - Howie Kendrick

5) .250, 18 HR - Yasmani Grandal

6) .290, 8 HR - Carl Crawford

7) .250, 6 HR - Juan Uribe

8) .277, 16 HR - Joc Pederson

Dodgers win 105 games and steamroll the west before defeating the Red Sox 4-2 to win the World Series. BOOK IT!

 

Call me crazy, but I seriously believe we can win 100. Only thing stopping it would be clinching the Division too early and giving everyone a month off or something.