NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

Roberts to involve Wills and others during spring training
by Daniel Starkand | Dodger Blue — 27 minutes ago



It has become a bit of a tradition in recent years for former Los Angeles Dodgers greats to lend a hand at Spring Training by working with individual players, position groups, or the entire team.

That will again be the case this year as Maury Wills, Steve Yeager, Sandy Koufax and possibly others, will be part of camp. The trio have of course been regulars at Camelback Ranch over the past few years.

Wills previously has helped teach techniques on the basepaths, and hopes he’ll have the opportunity this year to improve the Dodgers’ overall baserunning.

Additionally, Wills will work with Yasiel Puig on an individual basis, at Puig’s request.

As for Yeager, a fixture during Spring Training, this will be his fourth season as the team’s catching instructor. Despite the managerial change, he was named to the team’s 2016 coaching staff when it was announced last December.

According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is excited to welcome back former Dodger greats to help out during Spring Training:

He’s planning to involve Maury Wills, Steve Yeager, Sandy Koufax, and probably other alumni too. “For me, it’s a culture that I’m trying to continue, is respecting people that have come before us. Maury was a great Dodger. For him to be around, I look at him as a mentor. I think there’s a lot of things players can learn from him. Steve Yeager’s going to be out a little bit. I hear Sandy pops in out. The former Dodgers to be around, give a little nudge to the current players, is a good thing.”​

Roberts, who is a former Dodger himself, has made a point to embrace the franchise’s tradition since being named their first minority manager. Pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch for Spring Training on Feb. 19.

 

If the Dodgers played football
by Anthony Irwin | Dodgers Nation — 6 hours ago

Well, we’ve reached the pseudo national holiday that is Super Bowl Sunday. Okay, technically, tomorrow should be the national holiday, but that’s a topic for another article

As we wait for today’s big game, the question begs asking: If players on the Dodgers played football, which positions would they play? There aren’t enough players to make up a full roster, but let’s see how we can do.

Quarterback: Clayton Kershaw
Really, is there any doubt here? Kershaw’s pinpoint placement from the mound would come in handy against the incredible athletes all over the NFL. Being 6’3″ doesn’t make him a giant in the industry, especially given Cam Newton is participating in today’s game and he’s basically an actual giant, but it’s about league average and makes it fairly easy to see over the line and avoid having passes blocked.

On top of that, Kershaw exhibits all the leadership qualities you’d want from the face of a franchise and captain on the field. This is the easiest choice here, and by a fair margin.

Runningback: Yasiel Puig
Would you ever, in a million years, want to tackle Puig with a headful of steam? Yeah, me neither. It’s impossible to say whether Puig has the kind of shifty lateral movement a runningback would need as baseball calls for basically none of that, but he’s probably the most explosive athlete on the Dodgers, and, again, tackling him would suck for anyone. An added bonus is Puig’s tremendous throwing arm for creative plays involving him throwing out of the backfield.

Wide Receiver: Joc Pederson
While so much is made about Pederson’s rough second half of the season last year, his defense is still noteworthy. In this case, his range in centerfield would help him track down passes from Kershaw. Just as with Puig, it’s impossible to know what kind of lateral shiftiness he might have at his disposal, but both are good enough overall athletes to assume they could make this work. The offense is off to a good start, but how about the other side of the ball?

Safety: Justin Turner
Sure, we could have the team’s best athletes play on both sides, but what kind of creativity would that take? Turner may not boast the most speed on the team, but he is very good a tracking angle and reacting quickly, which is something you need to be able to do when watching over the entire defense from that spot. Turner also shows a willingness to put his body on the line, which is important for obvious reasons as he makes up the last line of defense.

Linebacker: A.J. Ellis
Again, Ellis doesn’t isn’t the most impressive athlete on the roster, but his leadership would be vital as he maneuvers the defense pre-snap. On top of that, Ellis is widely considered one of, if not the, most studious Dodgers. This would be vital as a prepares his defense for all the audibles against that Peyton Manning guy.

 

So is Adrian the offensive lineman?

 

fixed

 

Zaidi confident Pederson will make adjustments at the plate
by Eric Avakian | Dodger Blue — 2 hours ago
:farhan:
Beginning on Opening Day of the 2015 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were reliant on at least one young player. That initially was Joc Pederson, though it grew to include the likes of Kiké Hernandez and eventually Corey Seager.

On top of playing a strong defensive center field, Pederson enjoyed plenty of success at the plate. He began the year as the Dodgers’ No. 8 hitter, though moved to the top of the order as Jimmy Rollins slumped.

Pederson hit .230/.364/.487 with 20 home runs, 40 RBIs and 58 walks during the first half of the 2015 season. He earned a spot in the Home Run Derby and started the All-Star Game in left field.

However, the rookie’s success at the plate began to wane near the midway point of the season, and the struggles carried over to the second half.

Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi viewed the peaks and valleys as what’s to be expected from a young player, via an interview with Chris Russo on MLB Network’s High Heat:

“At some level that’s just the trials and tribulations of a young player. He came in and set the world on fire in the first half, went to the Home Run Derby and put on a show there. Then the league caught up to him, started throwing him more breaking balls and changed their approach to pitch him more inside. For any young player, these guys shoot through the Minor Leagues and barely have to deal with any adversity, and certainly don’t have to deal with the level of sophistication of advanced reports and that kind of thing at the Major League level.”

Zaidi called on Pederson to make the requisite adjustments at the plate, and believes the Dodgers’ coaching staff will significantly aid that process:

“There’s an adjustment period for every young player, no matter how talented. Joc is no different and he made some of those adjustments late in the season, which we’re encouraged about. We have a new hitting coach in Turner Ward and new assistant hitting coach in Tim Hyers, who we think are going to help Joc a lot. Just like any young player, it’s on him now to make adjustments and get back to the level he was at in the first half [of 2015].”

Pederson hit .178/.317/.300 with just six home runs and 14 RBIs after the All-Star break. He drew 34 walks in 219 plate appearances over 62 games (54 starts). Pederson was eventually supplanted as the club’s starting center fielder by Hernandez.

Dodgers President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman stated that he is expressed confidence in Pederson’s ability to hit left-handed pitchers. He enjoyed mild success against lefties last season, batting .216/.295/.397 with six home runs, 14 RBIs, 48 strikeouts and 13 walks in 129 plate appearances.

 

that'd be the slowest linebacker in football history. Even Peyton Manning would burn AJ in a race lol

 

go get em!!!

 

Friedman praises depth in lineup
by Daniel Starkand | Dodger Blue 3 hours ago

With the start of Spring Training less than two weeks away, the Los Angeles Dodgers roster all but appears to be set.

There’s been some turnover, with Zack Greinke essentially getting replaced by Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda. However, much of the core from last season’s roster returns; including Brett Anderson and Howie Kendrick.

Anderson accepted the Dodgers’ one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer, while Kendrick ended his quiet offseason by signing a two-year, $20 million deal.

Los Angeles also completed a three-team trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, acquiring prospects Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson.

Despite not adding any big-name position players, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman believes the club’s lineup will be a strength this season, according to Jon Weisman of Dodger Insider:

“We feel like the length of our lineup will be a strength of ours, in terms of one through eight,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said today. “We feel like the depth of our lineup will be a strength of ours. In terms of the exact lineup configuration, that will probably be more of a topic of conversation in Spring Training.”​

Friedman added with Spring Training right around the corner, the front office is pleased with the current roster in place, but he would not hesitate to make a move if it meant improving:

“We feel good about our roster, where we are right now,” Friedman said. “That being said, if we can figure out ways to improve for 2016, we’ll be aggressive to do so.”​

Over the past three seasons the Dodgers have won 90-plus games each year, and three consecutive National League West division titles. Their quest to getting over the postseason hump begins Feb. 19 when pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch for Spring Training.

 

i really hope zack and the d'bags tank so all these fkags can stfu
and while i'd never, ever, hope for a player to get injured...
if zack were to go down it would serve all those pompous asses in arizona right
hey. maybe we should sign carlos quentin...

Dodgers losing Greinke was one of the "worst decisions" of offseason
by Justin Russo | Dodgers Nation — 1 hour ago

Many people have seen this offseason as one that the Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately failed at despite them adding free agent pitchers Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda. It’s namely viewed that way because they weren’t able to re-sign Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Greinke. But was it one of the worst decisions by any team this offseason?

Well, according to the fine people over at Cheat Sheet dot com, it’s on that list of the “The 3 Worst Decisions We’ve Seen This Offseason.” Fair or not, it’s certainly something that is interesting to look back on and wonder about.

From Bob Garcia over at Cheat Sheet dot com:

"What this move does more than anything else is set the team back in the immediate future. They were able to recover a bit with the signing of Kazmir and Maeda, but neither matches the caliber of pitcher that Greinke has become."​

Before we get started on this topic, the other two things that were on the list were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim failing to sign a capable everyday left fielder and the Baltimore Orioles giving Chris Davis a hefty contract rather than fixing their pitching concerns. But we’re here to talk about the Dodgers, not them.

While it’s true that losing Greinke is a huge blow to the team in the short term, it could also be viewed as a major boon in the long-term. Greinke is 32 years old, and the life of his contract will take him until he’s 38 years old. That’s a hefty price for any team to pay, and you can’t fault the Dodgers for passing on that.

Sure, losing Greinke might impact their ability to win a World Series in 2016, but you could just as well argue that having him on the payroll could hamper their title chances in the future, as well. This isn’t just a short play, but rather one that examines the whole picture rather than what’s right in front of your face.

Would Greinke’s services be helpful this coming season? Absolutely. But to call it one of the “worst decisions we’ve seen this offseason” reeks of something entirely different. It’s all in the eye of the beholder. For instance, one could choose to see that giving Greinke six years and $206.5 million as a terrible decision and might not be wrong, given the history of similar deals handed out at his age. It just depends on how you look at it.​