NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

No way to know it would be this light but I think the FO was trying to avoid a PR nightmare. The Yankees were widely criticized for trading for this guy but in light of the reaction by Kenley I can see why you feel it was an error not to get him. He's a FA after this year so we could get him eventually.

 

I'm sure they had their reasons for calling off the trade.

 

Widely criticized? Well, you may be right...but I live in Yankeeland, and every fan I talked to is happy as a pig in shit about Chapman.
Like really...and are laughing at the 30 day suspension. After May, their back end BP is stupendous.
And really, who gives a shit about that kind of criticism when it possibly makes your team so much better?

 

Yup. Throw a hundo and you're excused for beating women and shooting guns in anger.
Flip side I guess he has no problem throwing fastballs at dudes... that and his strike out rate could come in handy but yeah... Glad he's a jankee...

 

No question the backend of the pen will be amazing but what of the starting pitchers and the age in their everyday line-up? With us it would have been amazing however no argument. As for your comment about giving a shit about the criticism, well where do we start. This wasn't simply a gun incident, this involved domestic violence which has been overblown yes but it's serious enough to bring about a shit storm of moral questions, not to mention possible sponsorship loss, protests from women's groups, etc. Bottom line do we really need controversy swirling around this team?

 

This ^^^^^

 

No, what we need is a trophy...... More than A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!

 

I agree about the Yankee problems...they are as you say, imo also. But we are talking about specifically Chapman and what he can bring to a team right? Not about old guys and mediocre pitching at the front.
I don't think a swirl of controversy, would be so damaging to the team...and the degree of it all is totally subjective. There's been controversy hefore about Greinke, Mattingly and of course, Senor Puig out there in RF already this year..so what? The Pope probably wouldn't like it, but within the framework of what sports/ players has become, ( I personally think the guy is a psycho, like others), but it is what it is.
It's anyway, as someone told me the other day, "a mute point", since pistol boy is a Yankee.

 

Just ran into Mariano Rivera at Starbucks in Mesa AZ. Didn't realize he's a coach for the cubbies now.

 

Haha. Duncan not Rivera my bad.. Please retract your like!!!

 

I took my like back. That was some bait and switch bullshit right there.

 

The problem was the threat of LAD's corporate sponsors/partners pulling the plug on their partnerships with the team because of negative publicity, and when one of those partners gets up from the table it'd get reported and be highlighted to no end and there'd be pressure from the outside for all the other corporate sponsors to follow suit.
AC's likely a LAD today if not for that.
Money and the media factoring in here..surprise.
Oh, but then the Yankees took a chance and grabbed AC, right?
And that's supposed to mean that LAD didn't have the guts to do the same...hmm, except in reality the Steinbrenner fam has been in control of the NYY for 40+yrs and have a pretty firm grasp on corporate partnerships with their club.
Their club, which is one that, whether you like them or not, always sits in the Top 3 in terms of the most valuable sports franchises globally.
I know we'd like to think that LAD is on par with NYY in this aspect, but no, LAD's ownership is obviously brand new in comparison and is not currently afforded such.

Now, my biggest gripe is how this whole thing got started in the 1st place.
The guy wasn't charged by authorities and more than a month had gone by without a peep regarding his arrest/case, the convenience of the flare up pissed me off, felt this whole ordeal was sketchy, even this suspension.
I wanted AC.
Regardless, once the cat got out of the bag it was a tough call for LAD from a business standpoint with the domestic violence label hanging over it and that's just the fact of the matter.
Even Boston passed...bottom line, Yankees are just a behemoth that can muscle through shit storms.
However, I digress, does this announcement of AC's suspension mean we have to go back down memory lane and mourn the failed trade all over again?
We had Greinke being mourned again the day before, Chapman obviously mourned yesterday, who's turn is it today?
Smart money's on Dee getting his 1oooth eulogy today, Kemp running a close 2nd, just running down the list.
Slap some Robitussun on it and walk it off, fellas.

 

Dodgers are taking their time in turning top prospect Julio Urias into a major league starter

Dylan Hernandez

How can a pitcher develop the necessary arm strength to become a major league starter if he's barely allowed to pitch?

Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi paused to think.

"Fair question," he said.

It's a question Zaidi and the Dodgers' other top decision makers will have to think about as they map out the upcoming season for Julio Urias, their prized 19-year-old left-hander from Mexico who is widely regarded as the sport's top pitching prospect.

As evidenced by the $206.5-million contract Zack Greinke signed with theArizona Diamondbacks, pitching has never been more valuable. Young, cost-controlled pitching is especially so.

The Dodgers are desperate to protect Urias' arm, but they also have to develop it. There is no blueprint for that, only educated guesses.

The consequences are significant. Do it right and Urias could be their next ace. Mess it up and the Dodgers might be forced into the free-agent market, where a front-line starter would cost them hundreds of millions of dollars.

The organization is taking a conservative approach with Urias, who was signed as a 16-year-old.

Urias pitched only 80 innings last year and 87 the year before that. A front-line major league starter pitches more than 200.

"I felt a little bad about that," Urias said in Spanish of his decreased workload.

Zaidi defended the Dodgers' methods, noting that Urias is the same age as many of the domestic high school seniors who were selected in the amateur draft last year.

Urias, who is expected to open the season with triple-A Oklahoma City, will "definitely" pitch more than 100 innings this year, Zaidi said. That's still considerably short of what would be required for him to be part of a major league rotation for an entire season.

"His innings are clearly going to be trending upwards for the next couple of seasons as we try to build him up to a full workload," Zaidi said.

Urias said he would follow whatever course the team recommends. "I know that what they have in mind is what's best for me," he said.

Last year, he took a midseason break to undergo a cosmetic procedure on his left eye. Urias has a benign mass in the eye that forces his eyelid to droop. The operation, his fourth on that eye, removed part of that mass.

Before the surgery, Urias was 1-2 with a 3.00 earned-run average in seven starts with double-A Tulsa. With 46 strikeouts in 36 innings, he was pitching well enough that he considered postponing the operation. He thought he could be called up to the major leagues.

"When you're in the minor leagues and are in double A or triple A, you know that a call can come at any moment," he said. "Every time I pitched, I thought, 'Hopefully, God gives me the opportunity to be part of the team.' "

Urias underwent the surgery in late May. He didn't pitch in double A again for more than two months.

He pitched six more times for Tulsa, posting a 2.51 ERA and striking out 28 batters in 32 1/3 innings. But he said he never felt right after his return.

"To lose two months once you have your rhythm and your pitches are working, it's very hard to regain everything," he said.

Urias finished the season in triple A, where he was rocked. In two starts, he pitched a combined 4 1/3 innings and gave up nine runs.

His dreams of a September promotion to the major leagues were dashed.

Urias is now in the Dodgers' major league spring-training camp for the second time.

"I feel more confident about everything," he said. "I feel more part of the team. I know the players now."

Farm director Gabe Kapler likes what he's seen.

Kapler prefers to watch bullpen sessions from behind the catcher to get an idea of how a pitcher would look from a hitter's vantage point.

"As a right-handed hitter myself, the ball's like bearing in on your hands when he chooses to do that, and the fastball explodes and rides when he's trying to keep it straighter," Kapler said. "And the changeup has been a really impressive pitch thus far."

Still, Urias faces long odds of making the Dodgers' rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Brett Anderson and Alex Wood are expected to be the five starting pitchers when the season opens. If any of them go down, Mike Bolsinger will be the likely replacement. The team is also expecting Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy to return from injuries this season.

Urias said exercising patience can be hard. As young as he is, his debut has been anticipated from the time he pitched a perfect inning in a Cactus League game against the San Diego Padres in 2014. Most of his conversations with his mentor and off-season training partner,Washington Nationals left-hander Oliver Perez, are about the major leagues.

"My grandmother always told me God will do everything, but that you have to reach out your hand, so he can help you," Urias said. "In my case, that means continuing to work hard. If he sees me working hard, he'll give me the opportunity.

"The truth is, yes, it's difficult. But you have to remain calm and patient. They're the ones who make the decisions. That's their job. Our job is on the field."

Who has it harder? Urias or the Dodgers' front office?

Certainly, a case could be made for the latter. Not only is Urias' future at stake, the front office's could be too.

 

Yeah, it means people can write WTF they want about whatever player they want at any time...I guess those who don't like it will have endure it...
Just like the NBA salary useless drivel we have to read from to me to time. That's "who gives a fuck" for lots of people, just like Dee or Greinke are to others.

 

Surprisingly hard stretch there
Me responding to a Dwight comparison in this thread once is hardly comparable to the constant whining in regards to Greinke, Chap, Kemp, Dee, etc.
You took your shot tho, you got heart...

 

Heaven forbid losing a Security benefit logo behind home plate for signing Chapman. just improve the team.

 

Mike DiGiovannaVerified account ‏@MikeDiGiovanna
The #Dodgers view Yaisel Sierra, their latest high-priced Cuban import, as a reliever, which is fine with the RHP.

 

Sierra grew up in Holguin, Cuba, the hometown of Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman.



Well, what do you know