Dodger Talk

Welp, looks like we're not getting either Chapman or Fernandez after all. Miami wanted Seager, Urias, Pederson, and two more prospects LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

We're shifting focus to Johnny Cueto. Supposedly he's asking for a 6 year $160M-ish deal. Personally I thought he'd ask for way more.

So what are we waiting for? DO IT!!!!!!!

 

Rumor has it teams were reluctant on Cueto cause of elbow issues. If its a nothing thing and he is on form that is a huge pickup of the Gnats.

 

Remember when the Nationals were far and away the favorites to win the World Series after signing Max Scherzer?

Yeah, that didn't happen.

What I'm saying is it's better to have a competitively balanced roster than it is to nab the best free agents. This is not like the NBA where a single LeBron James can mean the difference between 60 wins and ping pong balls.

Iwakuma is no Greinke, and it sucks to lose such an amazing pitcher. Koufax/Drysdale combos are rare, though, so I don't expect them to happen often.

But breaking it down, if Iwakuma can give us a low 3 ERA, then that would be awesome. Ryu has an 80% chance of returning to form with the type of surgery he had, so he, too, can pitch us a low 3 ERA next year. That's about 400 innings of decent pitching vs 200 with Greinke and another 200 of whoever else last year. Wood and Anderson can give us mid to high 3 ERA, so that's not too bad for #4 and #5 starters. Bolsinger still has his great curveball if we need him, and Jose De Leon might get a shot, too.

For middle relievers, I still think Baez, Garcia, Hatcher, Avilan, and Howell are all nice pieces. If we can throw in one great arm, that would be wonderful. The best part about this is that we don't really have to experiment anymore after the disaster pen that Ned Colletti handed down.

As far as inconsistent bats, when you combine a high OBP with a low batting average, you're due to leave a lot of runners on base. Losing Kendrick will hurt, but remember our best hitter Puig was hurt all year. He's healthy again, so hopefully he will return to form and make up for losing Kendrick while also making sure Crawford doesn't play much. Kike and Peraza should bring much-needed energy and speed to our ballclub.

And don't forget Corey Seager, #1 prospect in all of baseball. This guy will definitely be a major upgrade at shortstop.

 

You point out all the bad but none of the good. I point out both good and bad. And you think I'm optimistic?

Look, San Diego went and got Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, James Shields, and Craig Kimbrel all in one off-season. All-star studded squad... They were still bottom dwellers! Lol.

Most Dodger fans wanted that lineup instead, but that didn't win anything. You can have all the big names you want, but if you don't have the right pieces, you're not gonna win anything. Even if we're not getting big names, we still know how to construct a winning team and they don't.

Utley may be older and sucked last year, but only because he was injured. When healthy, he was pretty phenomenal and far better than Howie Kendrick. He wasn't an all-star in 2014 for nothing. Now, $7 mils is pretty steep for his age, I think. But still, there's more you can bring to the table like veteran leadership and teaching the young Kike and Peraza how to handle 2nd base.

 

And even if Puig is not our savior, he's technically replacing Carl Crawford's at-bats. That is a massive upgrade, even if by default.

Again, you use the term "savior" as if one guy will make all the difference. A LeBron James will not catapult us to the World Series. That just doesn't happen. It takes a collective team to win.

That and the season doesn't start until April, so we still have another four months to make upgrades.

Also there are other ways to get better outside of free agency such as getting healthy again and using the farm (Seager, JDL, Peraza, etc.) It's not sexy, but it wins and gets the job done. Just ask the new-look Cubs and Astros.

 

I understand your frustration about coverage, but that's an argument for someone else. I know it sucks, but I can't comment on it since I don't know too much about it (mostly because I stream every game for free anyway, which should technically hurt TWC, lol).

We still have four months to get a good starter, and now rumors are floating around that we are eyeing a #1 or #2 starter from either Cleveland or Tampa Bay. Gotta just play the waiting game.

As for the trade, it seems like Frankie Montas is the real keeper, as he is a fireballer who is a fringe starter but could be huge out of the bullpen. He still walks more batters than we'd like, but that fastball is a real dandy.

The other two pieces are more lateral moves (at least to us), except that the ones we got have more Major league experience, which can only be a good thing.

 

Wooooo! We got Scott Kazmir! If he's anything like his last 3 years, then this is an excellent signing.

The opt-out is nifty, too, as it would feel like a contract year for him. If he opts out and declines his qualifying offer, it's a free draft pick for us. Great forward thinking!

Kershaw, Ryu (if healthy), Kazmir, Wood, Anderson - That's a solid rotation right there. Kershaw is more than just a #1. And if healthy, I still consider Ryu as a bonafide #2 starter. At least he would be if he was on most other ballclubs. Everyone else is in the right place, though Anderson could be a #4. I know his win % hovers around 50%, but most other teams in the league still have losing pitchers in their starting rotation. So to have our weakest link as good as Anderson is a blessing.

I just realized, outside of Kazmir, the rest of our starting rotation is entering their prime years. Hopefully this means good things will come. I still worry a little about Alex Wood, but if he can be a little more consistent, it would go a long way to solidifying our rotation.

 

LAKERS JUST SIGNED MAEDA!!!

 

Might only be big enough to play point

Bahahahaha wow major brain fart.

Anywho, it's being reported everywhere now, and yes it's likely an 8 year deal but with the last three being conditional incentive years if he pitches a certain number of innings or something. Probably just a wild guess from the media though, lol.

My only concern is that I read somewhere that mentioned that even though he has a great slider that gets batters out, it doesn't quite spin fast enough for mlb hitters, so that's something he'll need to work on this off-season.

Anyway, I think we are pretty solid, and this gives us more flexibility to move pieces in the coming months.

 

He can throw up to 94 mph I've heard.