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How All Of The Dodgers Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree
Yasiel Puig was signed as an International Free Agent in 2012 (7 YRs/$42 MIL).. He was 22 Years old last year when he exploded onto scene in the National League in 3 Slashing .319/.381/.544 – with 19 HRs, 42 RBI and 66 Runs Scored in his 1st 104 Games Played. In 2014, he has been a tad better all around year: (.313/.397/.529 – with 13 HRs and 55 RBI thus far), but has clubbed 53 Extra Base Hits (31 – 2B and 9 3B to go with his HRs) – which is about 10 more extra base knocks than in 2014, whereas the rest of the numbers are pretty identical.
How All Of The Dodgers Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Los Angeles Dodgers – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here. Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The Yankees Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree
How All Of The Yankees Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The success of most franchises usually occurs when a huge core is built up through a drafting system, and then the club can piece the rest of the club together.
The 2nd best way to create a winning squad is to trade for players with the organizational pieces you have supplanted in the Minors or Majors.
Then there is the Yankees way of doing things. Hiring Free Agents – and spend boatloads of dollars.
Out of the majority of their hitting roster in 2014, most of them came through the Free Agent route.
Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Brian Roberts, Kelly Johnson and Yangervis Solarte were acquired through outright Free Agency.
Ichiro Suzuki and Brendan Ryan were both acquired in deals, then have since re-signed as Free Agents in the open market afterwards.
Alfonso Soriano, was brought over in a deal, and is in the last year of his current contract signed back in 2007.
Yes, he was originally signed by the “Pinstripers”, but the new chain of transaction, had the club giving away a pitching prospect for his services, even though he is still tied to A’Rod.
Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli stand alone as the only 3 players to have been drafted by the club – and have remained Yanks their whole playing time thus far. Read the rest of this entry
The Los Angeles Dodgers Players In All Organizational Affiliates, Prospects + Depth Charts (MLB + MiLB) 2014
Puig slowed down a shade from his torrid 1st month pace – however still slashed .319/.392/.925 – with 19 HRs, 42 RBI. 66 Runs Scored and 122 Hits in just 434 AB for the 2013 year. He has now in the 2nd YR of a 7 YR/$42 MIL contract in his pocket, and that may be the bargain of ALL – Time if he continues these type of numbers all the way throughout his length of the deal. Puig, 23, finished in 2nd for NL Rookie of The Year Voting, and placed 15th in NL MVP balloting as well.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart Expert) Follow @prosportsroster
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a rollercoaster 2013 campaign. After a late season 2012 trade, the club went on a spending bonanza to enter the 2013 year.
In late May. it looked bleak. The franchise wanted to fire Don Mattingly, Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez were battling various injuries, and the club was 23 – 32.
Enter Yasiel Puig with his historic 1st month, and the team then went on a torrid pace at that hadn’t been done in nearly 60 years.
The crux of this crestwave, was a 42 – 8 stretch that saw the club bypass all 4 Division foes, putting a stranglehold on the NL West once and for all.
Dodgers own the West
The Los Angeles Dodgers Roster Tree: How All Of The Hitters Were Acquired
Andre Ethier finished 6th in NL MVP Voting during the 2009 season. It has been his best year to date. He hit 31 HRs, added 106 RBI, 76 XBH Overall and scored 92 Runs. He won a Silver Slugger Award for his efforts. Ethier was acquired through a chain of transactions that goes all the way back to when the team drafted Mike Piazza (who was traded for Gary Sheffield), who was traded for Andrew Brown from Atlanta, (who was later flipped for Milton Bradley from Cleveland, before lA turned around and traded Bradley to the A’s for Andre Ethier.)
How All Of The Dodgers Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Los Angeles Dodgers – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
The NY Yankees Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Acquisitions For Each Player
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday July.09/2013
Derek Jeter starts the 2013 year only 11 hits behind Eddie Collins for 10th place on the ALL-Time hits list. With a possible Player Option in 2014, – and maybe playing one additional year after – can he hit 327 base knocks to pass Stan Musial for 4th place on the list by that years end? Will he play beyond this year even? Derek Jeter was Drafted by the team in 1992 – and represents all that good drafting the team did prior to the new regime.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Yankees – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast June.03/2013
The Boston Red Sox are in 1st place in the vaunted AL East for early June, after the Yankees have lost 9 of their 12
All on the Follow @sullybaseball Podcast.
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Carl Crawford Is Off To A Surprisingly Hot Start As The Dodgers Leadoff Guy
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday Apr.30/2013
Outfielder Carl Crawford has been red hot offensively hitting .307 with team leading 4 HRs and 6 RBI. He has been a huge surprise in his comeback season. The former Rays and Red Sox player is hitting far above his Career 3 Slash Line of .293/.333/.706 – by posting a line of .308/.388/906 to date. More importantly than any other statistic – Crawford has crossed home plate 20 times in 25 Games Played in 2013. This would put him on pace for about 130 Runs this campaign. This is lieu of Matt Kemp’s slow start and Hanley Ramirez not being in the lineup at all.
By Enrique Rivera (Dodgers Correspondent) Follow @eriqwiththeq
When the Dodgers acquired Outfielder Carl Crawford last year, they definitely didn’t know what they were getting, it was a pretty much a gamble they were able to afford. With the Dodgers’ new ownership willing to spend the big bucks on big players, this trade seemed like the ideal move to do for General Manager Ned Colleti.
Crawford wasn’t able to perform at all right away after he got traded to the Dodgers as he was rehabbing from his Tommy John Surgery but he was able to get healthy just in time for Opening Day. He has been healthy ever since.
Dodgers’ skipper Don Mattingly right away decided to make Crawford the leadoff hitter since Opening Day and has not disappointed. Through April 29th, 2013, Crawford is hitting .307 with OBP. of .390 (obviously doing his job as Leadoff hitter) with 4 SB and has been caught twice. He has also walked nine times but perhaps the most impressive stat is his team leading 4 HRs.
Slow motion video of Carl Crawford’s Home Run swing
Mid – Week MLB Reports Around The Horn Rant – April.25th/2013
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Follow @mlbreportsThursday Apr.25/2013
Adam Dunn has hit 40+ HRs 6 times in his career and 38+ HRs in 8 of the last 9 years. He is the Classic ‘3TO’ AKA 3 True Outs: HR/BB or SO. At The MLB Reports, we call it a ‘Dunn Trick’ when he does all 3 in a game. But this year he is hitting a meager .100 – with only 3 HRs. His time may be up.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Welcome to the 1st installment of the Mid – Week Around the Horn blog. This weekly piece will feature random thoughts from the MLB – that I just cant go on without saying something.
Notes:
Will somebody please (for the love of god) remove Adam Dunn from the #4 slot. I think he would be best hitting 9th – even 2nd (if he continues to walk). Hitting a .100 as the cleanup hitter has to have cost the club some games.
Shin-Soo Choo is off to a hot start and we are having an awareness week for him at the MLB Reports. He has a Career 3 Slash Line of .282/.386/.856 and had 20+ Stolen Bases in 3 out of the last 4 years. The one year he didn’t achieve 20, he swiped 15 Bags in 85 Games.
Shin-Soo Choo trains with the Reds
LA Dodgers Organizational Depth Charts, Rosters And Salaries (Majors And Minors)
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Follow @mlbreportsThursday, Mar.28/2013
When Magic Johnson and his ownership group spent 2 Billion Dollars on acquiring the Franchise, that should have been a red-flag that they were going to outspend every club when it came to payroll. Get ready for it baseball world! With the MLB not having a Salary Cap – and a whimsy penalty for 1st time offenders for the 1st violation of the Luxury Tax Threshold – how high will the LA club go?
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs. We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective. If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job. So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!
For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Dodgers Organization click here
LA Dodgers Great Moments:
LA Dodgers Payroll In 2013: And Contracts Going Forward
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Thursday Mar.28/2013
Adrian Gonzalez flew into LA last year and paid immediate dividends as he clubbed a 3 run HR in the 1st Inning with his new team. Gonzalez is in the 3rd year of a 7 YR/154 Million Dollar Contract. At age 30, he is a career .294 hitter with 214 HRs and 750 RBI in 1176 Games. Perhaps a full season back in California will re – ignite his MVP like numbers with the Padres during the 2009 and 2010 seasons – where he hit 71 HRs, drove in 200 RBI and hit for an OPS well over .900. He also is a 3 Time Gold Glove Award Winner in the National League.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst And Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I must say I am completely shocked at the Dodgers spending as much money as they are since the ownership change. I listened to Magic say how he ‘was not going to do anything stupid’, I will give him this much. However, the amount of payroll the team has taken on is enormous. The Dodgers are going to be over 200 Million Dollars in Payroll for years to come.
After I put their top ten salaries on the board, I will break down the rest of the roster to analyze some more projections for salary. The Dodgers have about 218 Million Dollars in signed contracts.
If you can believe this next part, they even are paying Manny Ramirez 8.33 Million Dollars still in 2013, Andruw Jones 3.375 Million and Huroki Kuroda 2.0 Million. That is roughly 13 Million Dollars on guys that are no longer in your organization.
Back to the trades that have brought in several players. I do agree for the mentality of it. The Dodgers fans were given a raw deal by the past management and the new guys are showing the rest of the MLB that they intend to be the big dog.
With Cole Hamels re-signing with the Phillies, their coveted starter was no longer available in Free Agency. Gonzalez was there to be had if they would take on the Carl Crawford/Josh Beckett contracts.
The team went out and signed Zack Greinke (15 – 5 with a 3.48 ERA split between the Brewers and Angels) instead.
Here is a nice highlight clip of Carl Crawford below. As a side note: The only inside the park Home Run I have ever witnessed at a game live was hit by Carl Crawford at Us Cellular Field in 2008. He was one of the best lead-off hitters back then.
Carl Crawford Highlights – Mature Lyrics So Parental Guidance is Advised:
Toronto Blue Jays: Clubhouse Cohesion, New Faces, And The World Baseball Classic
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Follow @mlbreportsMonday, February 18th, 2013
Melky Cabrera, Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion. 3 of the first 4 hitters in the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays lineup, and all from the Dominican Republic. In their first year as teammates on the Blue Jays, and one of their first spring training practices, have already become a close trio. Dominican slugger Jose Bautista is missing from this photo, but is the 4th piece of this dazzling 1-4 combination.
By Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Toronto Blue Jays Correspondent) Follow @mednickalex
The Toronto Blue Jays had a very well publicized off-season. Many moves were made, including two blockbuster trades, the signing of one of baseball’s best and most controversial contact hitters, and a new (old) manager. A core of the former Blue Jays remained intact, but between the big moves made by GM Alex Anthopoulos this off-season, along with the smaller additions, the Blue Jays have 12 new players on their 25 man roster. These 25 players are expected by many, to hit the gates running, and to at the very least, earn Toronto a spot in the playoffs come October 2013.
Clearly, team chemistry plays are huge part of winning championships. We have seen numerous teams boasting extremely talented rosters have merely moderate success, and we have seen teams loaded with professional journeymen have historic success. Michael Jordan is noted for making the comment, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”.
The 2013 Blue Jays are very unique in that while half of their team is in fact new to Toronto, many of these players have played together and have cultural bonds. The blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins brought a total of 6 players to Toronto, all of whom, were quite obviously teammates in South Florida. 5 of these players are expected to immediately be impact players in the clubhouse. Another big trade with the Mets brought over three players who will likely contribute to the team to varying degrees, and have already formed close ties amongst each other due to the relationship that exists between a knuckleball pitcher and his battery mate. Right off the bat, we can account for 8 of the 12 new players on the roster who at the very least, already are familiar with each other and are not entering a new city completely unfamiliar with their teammates. The following players might all make their way to the ALL-Star Game at Citi Field this year: R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion .
2013 Preview of the Toronto Blue Jays:
The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1994-2012: Part 2 of a 7 Part Series
Wednesday, Nov.28th, 2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5-7 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.
Today’s Part 2 Feature of the Blue Jays Franchise will be written by our Baseball Writer Alex Mednick. To do this franchise series service, Alex has studied this club a lot more than I have in the last 20 years and will do this article better justice for you the reader!
Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst):
Note from Alex Mednick: Chuck Booth offered to me the opportunity to step in to his Franchise Series and cover the Blue Jays history from 1994-Present. I gladly accepted the honor.
In Part 1 of this series, Chuck covered the Blue Jays history from their humble beginnings at Exhibition Stadium in 1977, through the glory years in the late 80s and early 90s. The story dropped off right after the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Championships in 1992 and 1993. We closed the books with the walk-off winning home run by Joe Carter to win the World Series, and the parties and celebrations that were to follow across Ontario, Canada. I will pick it back up at the beginning of the 1994 season, when the Blue Jays had high hopes to win a third consecutive world championship.
(Scroll Down Past the Links or Click the READ MORE OF THIS ENTRY ICON.)
Franchise Series Links:
Franchise History Part 1 1977-1993: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/09/jays1/
The Hitters: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series:
The Pitchers: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Pitchers Part 4 Of A 7 Part Series
Skydome: An Interview with ‘Rogers Centre Expert’ and “MLB reports Founder” Jonathan Hacohen Part 5 of 7
2013 Team Payroll: https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/10/tor/
Special Bonus Fan Blog Of 2013 Team Payroll: https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/12/torfanalex/
Melk! It’s Good For Your Outfield: Where Does Toronto’s New Outfield Stand?
Thursday, November 22nd, 2013
Photo Courtesy of bleacherreport.com
Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst)
Since the Blue Jays and Marlins blockbuster trade, there has been a lot of discussion about Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle. Jose Reyes is going to have an amazing presence at the top of the lineup, getting on base, steal bases and playing beautiful shortstop on the left side of the infield with Brett Lawrie for the Blue Jays ground ball pitchers. Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle immediately make the Blue Jays rotation a top rotation in all of baseball by being inserted in. Effectively, they got two top of the line starters to create an elite rotation that makes them serious contenders.
Alex Mednick (Blue Jays Fan and Writer for MLB Reports): Gibbons May Work Out!
Tuesday November 20th, 2013
Note from Lead Writer Chuck Booth: Just to be fair on this whole John Gibbons hire, I am posting this article written by my fellow colleague/Baseball Writer at the MLB Reports) in order to give a different vantage point. Alex is a Blue Jays fan, so he has a passion for the team. His thoughts are of his own and while I may not agree with his opinion, that is okay. That is why we all have our own minds and are not all sheep! So here is his article (based on a question he answered on my previous piece this morning.)
The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. Only Pittsburgh and Kansas City and Toronto have not made a playoffs appearance since the 1994 strike. Will 2013 be any different with OLD/NEW MGR John Gibbons?
Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst):
I responded to our Lead Baseball Writers Message about not liking the Gibbons hiring in this article earlier today here.
It was, frankly, my initial reaction as well..I was not pleased when I first read this news about Gibbons. I think AA also realizes the consequences of spending his bosses money and then making a poor decision. If it does not pan out, it could mean his job…AA is not untouchable, even though there has been a demi-god status applied to him. Bosses don’t like when you squander their money…period.
But for some reason I am intrigued by this hiring. I was absolutely fed up with the Ricciardi/Gibbons regime, and thought that they should have been fired 2 years before they were. But Gibbons acted largely as the puppet of an egotistical, and nonsensical J.P. Ricciardi, which I can attribute to a lot the reasons he was criticized. There is no doubt, even though managers do not take any at bats themselves, they have a large impact on the team. Look at Bobby V and Boston.
I think that Gibbons was a stooge for JP Ricciardi and that is part of why he is so attractive to AA. AA actually stated during the hiring process he was looking for someone who could fall in line with his and the organization’s theory. Farrell was the opposite of that, a free thinking executive type, who also seemed disinterested in the organization as a whole. He didn’t take the job seriously.
“At first, I was not happy with the signing, having thought about it a little more, lets give it a shot.” Alex Mednick
Hiring John Gibbons Is A Huge Mistake
Tuesday, Nov.20/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I am in complete shock that the Jays hired John Gibbons as their recycled coach. For a guy that has largely supported Alex Anthopoulos on many moves since he has taken over the helm, I can’t believe he pulled this guy off the scrap heap for managers. Gibbons managed the Blue Jays from 2004-2008 and held down a mediocre 305-305 record. While he did post back to back winning seasons in 2006 and 2007 in a tough AL East, he also had some talented players to work with. Roy Halladay was the premier pitcher in the American League from 2005-2008 and would give a 11-13 games over .500 clip just by taking the hill every year. In the 3 full years that Gibbons had Halladay, he was 44-16 (.733) in 72 starts, so if he had been healthy for 96 starts in this time frame, he would have won about 59 Games versus only 24 losses. In Gibbons best year as a manager, he was 87-75 with the 2006 club. Halladay was 16-5 (11 Games over .500).
I would never want to re-hire a manager that has 0 playoff appearances when the current club is going to be graded on exactly that. The Jays will have a serious ‘PR’ nightmare if this hire does not work out. No one would have faulted AA for hiring a manager with playoff experience. If those guys aren’t available as your top choice, at least bring in someone fresh that has not tasted failure for the club.
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: June 2012
Monday June.4, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few notes written for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts. The Texas Rangers are the top ranked team yet once again, although teams are certainly gaining on the them in the last week. Look out for Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees to make their move towards the top this month.
June Power Rankings-Last Month Rank in Parenthesis
1. Texas-32-22 (1) The Rangers rode Josh Hamilton in the month of May-who enters today on pace for about 60 HRs and 170 RBI while hitting .354. Nelson Cruz is starting to heat up and the duo of Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler are steady as as ever. Yu Darvish is 7-3 en route to the leading the group amongst Rookie of The Year Contention. Joe Nathan is looking like his old self again out of the pen with an ERA under 2.
2. LA Dodgers 33-21 (5) Even with Matt Kemp out of the lineup again, the Dodgers are winning ball games with solid contributions from Andre Ethier and A.J Ellis on offense. The pitching staff has been anchored by Clayton Kershaw and a fast 7-1 start by Chris Capuano. Ted Lilly was 5-1 before a stint on the DL. It is too bad because Lilly is 125-104 since 2004.
3. Tampa Bay 31-23 (2) Hideki Matsui homered in two of his first 3 games back with the Rays. The team has had steady pitching to stay in contention. Carlos Pena has really struggled in the last month and will need to pick it up. Luke Scott with 35 RBI has good production numbers in spite of his .225 AVG. Fernando Rodney has converted 17 out of 18 saves to pace the club.
4. Cincinnati 30-23 (12) Joey Votto has hit .404 in the last 30 days and maybe the best all-around hitter in the National League right now. Jay Bruce has 12 HRs and 34 RBI and is living up to his all-star potential. Aroldis Chapman has 27 Strikeouts in just over 14 innings and has yet to yield a run while opponents are hitting a paltry .043 against him.
5. NY Yankees 29-24 (6) The Bronx Bombers have 6 players with 8 HRs or more, which is a good thing because with the exception of Derek Jeter, a lot of them are hitting under their career averages. The return of Andy Pettitte has helped the rotation with the loss of Micheal Pineda. Phil Hughes threw a complete game over the weekend and CC Sabathia is on pace for another 20 win season. Read the rest of this entry
Don Mattingly has managed The Dodgers to the ‘Best Record in the MLB’
Wednesday, May.30/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-At first glance at the LA Dodgers you will see a team that leads the Major League with a 32-17 record heading into action tonight. Matt Kemp has missed the last two weeks of action and yet the team still continues to put up wins. Before his injury, Kemp was playing like an MVP candidate and Andre Ethier has racked up 43 RBI to the lead the National League. Clayton Kershaw has been his usual dominant self. Key pitching contributions from Chris Capuano (7-1) and Ted Lilly (5-1) have paced the club in the pitching department, where they rank 2nd in a lot of categories amongst pitching staffs in the NL and the Majors.
Don Mattingly has battled several injuries, a team of platoon players, a lowered payroll due to the impending ownership changes en route to this record. It is clear why the Dodgers are winning ball games, Mattingly is making good managerial decision at the key times. When you look at how the current club is configured, you would see there is great baseball pedigree in the stable. There are 4 sons of ex major league ball players on the roster: Scott Van Slyke (son of Andy), Tony Gwynn Jr. (son of Tony Sr.), Dee Gordon (son of Tom) and Jerry Hairston Jr (son of Jerry Sr.) These guys are hardly trailblazing their way to Cooperstown anytime soon, however they play good fundamental baseball having grown up in Major League clubhouses. (On a side note, I would pay good money to see a father son game with these boys versus their fathers.) Read the rest of this entry
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