DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS thread

Au contraire...we wisely used the money to pay Homer Bailey.
Or else we wouldn't have gotten those helpful guys from the Reds...

 

:crying:

 

Jeter Downs & Josiah Gray would like a word.

 

Can you read or nah? The sentence didn't end at nothing.

 

Fair enough. Still doesn't change the fact that it's a very short-sighted statement, who says their presence in the org doesn't give them the depth to make a deal they other wise wouldn't make.

As far as doing nothing with the cash saved, wrong again, Pollock will prove to be an upgrade in CF and likely give them more balance than Puig did, getting Kemp (I know you didn't mention him) off the roster is a bonus and it wouldn't really be fair to ask Alex Wood to be a part-time starter in his walk year. As far as the rest of the money, Joe Kelly, we saw first hand what he can do, should we expect that over 162? no, almost no reliever dominates from april to september, but no reason to think he can't be well above average.

I know logic doesn't suit those who just want the shiny new toy every winter.

 

And you backed up his very short-sighted statement with one of your own. " Pollock will prove to be an upgrade in CF.... "
Yeah, you can't say that for sure. We know his resume and how he struggles with injury quite often.
You're bringing optimism and that's cool and all, but if you're also talking logic..optimism after all these choke jobs, year after year, isn't very logical, is it?

 

WTF is the point if you're already going into the season with a gun to your head?

 

Joe Kelly was signed before that trade. And why is getting Kemp off the roster a bonus? He got moved because there was no playing time for him. I didn't mention him because his salary was offset by a worse player (Bailey) who cost more. The thing is when we are competing for a title, why are we making trades that are immediately putting us farther away? Dodgers should've been asking the Reds for relievers better than Yimi or Stewart instead of prospects

 

What's the point of being so optimistic that you consider an injury prone AJ Pollock's performance a sure thing?
Are you Lavar Ball speaking it into existence? If that's the case, go ahead and put a word in for Kershaw - who you're also not concerned about.

 

Is the "DL" called the "IL" now?

 

Yes

 

Nice. The one fewer syllable will help with pace of play.

 

Moose just missed his 2nd HR on the day. Maybe he'll be fine @ 2B?

 

Uh oh. Austin Meadows striking
Still can't believe that Archer trade

 

I’m still pretty upset about the Puig/Wood trade. I think their definitely is something to Puig and to a much lesser extent Wood not being the best clubhouse guys but man. And I like Jeter Downs and Gray as much as the next guy but those are 2 very good major league players. I guess I didn’t realize Wood was even that good last year.

 

Solid day for Peraza

 

So the word is that there has been no market for Puig for the last couple of years. I don’t know if it was ever posted here, but one GM complained that whenever he talked to the Dodgers about a trade in recent seasons, they would ALWAYS find a way to include Puig in the deal talks. This was confirmed by I believe Jim Duquette to be something that was very common practice by the club. It has also been reported a good bit that Puig’s market value was “0” around baseball. We all know he had issues, but more and more of the issues have been quietly coming to light in recent months now that he has gone. Baseball players have a code that things don’t leave the clubhouse which is why you don’t hear a lot of in depth tales and why reporters are told not to say a whole lot. So we probably won’t get the full story for many many years, but it’s getting pretty well known that his teammates didn’t like him. Two prominent things I’ve heard more recently was his teammates hated his lack of preparation/focus + a volatile attitude and Dave Roberts was getting really tired of having to coddle Puig literally daily.

I’ll admit that I’m sad Puig is gone, he’s been one of my favorite players since the minute he came up, but he was also not a superstar and we all need to stop acting like he was. He had superstar talents but didn’t come close to consistently being the player he flashed to be over 4 seasons ago. He’s a 2, maybe 3 WAR COF’er and as we saw this offseason, that’s not worth much in this market. Plus you add in the moody attitude and you get your answer of why the Dodgers didn’t get what some think to be a whole lot in return.

That trade was basically Bailey for Kemp(who also possesses no value) and Puig’s salary, Wood and Puig’s upside for Gray and Downs, Farmer was thrown in since the Dodgers were in need of 40 man spots and no longer viewed him as a viable catching option. Nobody was giving up anything valuable for Kemp or Puig as much as many on here would like to believe, Wood was one you could make an argument for, but he is likely what got them Gray and Downs. People look at the names on the jersey and get upset, but miss the bigger picture on this imo. Kemp was great early, then fell apart and got fat down the stretch...AGAIN. Puig was not good for a majority of last year, on Sept 2 he had a .769 OPS with 15HR’s, he went on a tear for the remainder of the month which included a 5 HR in 2 game stretch. His overall numbers were decent, but it took an incredible stretch to just pull his numbers into “ok” territory for a COF’er. Wood flashes brilliance, but injuries and a heavy drop in FB velo raise a giant red flag for him(and now he is on the IL).

These guys all had their positives, put plenty of warts too in a bad offseason to have or want a sizeable contract. Prospects are valuable nowadays and the Dodgers got two pretty good looking ones in return. If the Dodgers don’t win the WS this year, it won’t be because they didn’t have these three guys anymore and it also won’t be because they didn’t get back a middle reliever when they traded them. I think this was a better trade than many believe it was and in time, I think most will agree.

 

Mostly Wood that I care about losing. Kemp sucks and Puig has his baggage that might not have been worth the hassle. It’s just tough optics in win now mode to sell off useful pieces for nothing currently. Idk I guess it depends how much you like AJ Pollock too since he’s essentially the replacement.

 

Interesting article (I thought) in the Star Ledger about MLB in 2018...covering multiple topics.
The highest success rate in managerial challenges was Ned Yost, Royals: right on 31 of 41 challenges. 76%.
Lowest success? Craig Counsell, Brewers. 7/34. 21%.
Most challenges? Kevin Cash, Rays, 54, right 26. 48%
Fewest? Buck Showalter, O's 27, right 15. (56%)
The consensus of the sportswriters on the 2019 NLE winner: Nats; NLC: Cards ;NLW: LA; WC1: Cubs ; WC2: Mets
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt; Mike Trout
CY: Scherzer; James Paxton
ROY: Victor Robles; Eloy Jiminez
MOY: Mike Shildt, Cards; Kevin Cash, Rays
Post Season winners:
ALDS: Astros over Rays; Yanks over Indians
NLDS: LA over Mets ; Cards over Nats
ALCS: Astros over Yanks
NLDS: LA over Cards
WS: Astros over LA
I'm OK with it all until the WS...don't know if I could handle a hat trick fail.