A Little of Everything and not Much of Anything

My coworker is wearing a Cody Bellinger jersey today. I told him, “Thank you,” and that I didn’t do fantasy sports but if I did I would buy CB this season. He had the unbelievable rookie campaign in which he won ROY unanimously then nearly took home a ring as well. Last year he struggle all year but his defensive versatility and speed opened some eyes as to what kind of athlete he really is. Some say he is the fastest player on the team and I have seen a 65 slapped on his run tool. He could easily steal 30 bases if called upon.

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This year he is likely to be the starting CF, as Muncy was our best hitter last year and seems only to be able to play 1B on a regular basis. Roberts just squashed the Muncy-to-2B chatter and my idea of putting him in LF doesn’t seem to have attracted any followers. It’s probably we will continue to see the late-game maneuvering of players so that CB ends up at 1B to end games while CT3 or Keekay patrol CF. That mitigates some disappointment over not seeing him in his natural habitat in the infield.

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I’m as high on Bellinger as any hitter not named Turner next year. Seager I will give some time to ease back into the flow. If Bellinger truly is already working on his swing, we could see him at his best this year. He will still strike out, but maybe with some increased contact (especially with two strikes) he could utilize his speed better in order to maximize his offensive output.

My first Dodger disappointment came in 1961, when as a 10 year old I learned that Don Demeter was traded to the Phillies for the immortal Turk Farrell . Couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be rid of Don Demeter.

Thanks for the journey down memory lane , DC! Nice diversion from wondering about who is going to be traded for whom. It’s a slow winter meeting, perhaps reflecting a new financial paradigm in MLB or perhaps indicating collusion.(Just kidding).

The Athletic has a great article on the Dodger Hitting Guru Triumvirate, Robert Van Scoyoc (RVS), Brant Brown, and Aaron Bates. I would agree with Mark that the hiring of RVS will either be a home run or a monumental strike out. I will give Friedman credit. He does see an area that is ripe for change, and he does not hesitate. He doesn’t just dip his toe into change, he goes all in. Some poignant excerpts:

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He pointed to the industry-wide increase in strikeouts — some 35 percent since his first year on the job — as evidence that change is necessary.

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“Let’s think about this differently,” he said. “Let’s ask different questions. Let’s be open-minded to ways we can possibly combat that. I think between those three guys, their perspectives, their experiences, their abilities to relate and connect to players, plus how their skill sets complement each other, I just think it has a chance to be a really dynamic hitting environment.”

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The attempts to engender that environment are underway. While the Dodgers front office spends the week at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Cody Bellinger will visit Dodger Stadium this week to meet with the club’s new hitting coaches. “He’s very hungry to continue to improve,” Friedman said. “He’s in a great frame of mind going into this offseason to make some adjustments here and there, just like all young players do — to keep the strengths that are in place and continue to build on some of the challenges.”

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“We’re still scratching the surface of what we’re going to try to do and how we want to approach the hitting department next year,” Friedman said. “I think that will evolve more the rest of this month into January, and we’ll hopefully try to have more clarity of thought going into February. Exactly how we’re going to do it is just a vision on a whiteboard right now.”

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As a Dodgers consultant in 2017, he (RVS) also worked extensively with infield prospect Gavin Lux.

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I cannot be an advocate for change in the roster, if I cannot accept a change in the approach to hitting. I will remove all negative thoughts about a coach who reportedly hit a solid .100 as a HS Senior, but now is revered as a hitting guru by more than just JDM. If hitters like Gavin Lux and maybe Cody Bellinger are open to change, who am I to tell them who to see or more importantly, not to see. Go RVS…Go Blue!!

From Dodger News: Chase Utley will assume a front office position with the Dodgers. That’s the best news yet out of the winter meetings.

Realmuto’s situation from Heyman:

Mets not going to trade Thor, may focus on the more defensive catcher.

Dodgers in a stalemate because Marlins insist on Bellinger.

There were some interesting comments from Doc at his presser yesterday. He initially states that the Dodgers have four starters,; Kershaw, Buehler, Hill, and Ryu. Then when asked about the 5th he talks about Kenta, Stripling and Urias. Who he did not include (initially) was Wood. I think that just screams that Wood will absolutely be traded. He later discussed Wood’s mechanics and what changes he may or may not make. He really just said, whatever Alex wants to do is okay. In other words, ask his next manager.

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He also said that Kenta is a starter. So he really has five starters and none are named Stripling or Urias. Doc reiterated what has been widely discussed that Urias will be on an innings limit. They do not know what that limit is right now. “We got to figure out how to go about ramping him up for the season but ultimately we see Julio as a major league starter.”

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Roberts believes Stripling’s injury issues caught up with him late last year but he also said “he is going to get opportunities to build on the innings pitched.”

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He also said that 2B will probably be filled internally. Kike’ was first mentioned, then CT3, and then Muncy. He did indicate that Muncy was going to get his ABs and some would be at 2nd. He “trusts” Muncy at 2B, but not full time. Let the platooning begin. For those looking for DJLM or Jed Lowrie, it does not look promising.

AC, if you are reading this…

When your son was under contract with an MLB team, was he at the mercy of doing whatever was asked of him during the off-season, i.e., “We want you to be at the stadium on January 6th to take batting practice in front of our new coaching staff.” Also, would they have paid for his airfare from, say, LA to Boston and back?

Two trades that come to mind for me for two very different reasons occurred on the same day 5 years apart.

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11-28-67 – One of my worst nightmares. Most who have read me know that I am a huge relief pitching fan, and Ron Perranoski was always near and dear to me. I was a junior in high school, and after another losing football season my year got worse when the Dodgers traded Perranoski, John Roseboro, and Bob Miller to the Twins for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versailles. Versailles went on to hit below the Mendoza Line even before good Mario made it famous. Grant was okay in relief, but Perranoski went on to have one good and two exceptional years with the Twins.

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11-28-72 – The Dodgers acquired from Anaheim the only Angel that I liked, Andy Messersmith, with Ken McMullen for Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Billy Grabarkewitz, Bobby Valentine, and Mike Strahler. Messersmith is more widely known as the father of free agency, even though Curt Flood was really the force behind the movement. I was such a fan of Andy Messersmith that I named my first son after him. Messersmith was dating a dear friend of ours and we met him for dinner at the Red Onion in Newport Beach. When I told him we named our son after him, he looks at me and says, “You do know my name is John Alexander?” I said of course, why do you think his middle name is John. That wasn’t the reason, but we all laughed anyway.

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Those are two trades that I will remember forever, or until I don’t.

As a fan, some of my memorable (good or bad) trades have been the LoDuca deal (seen on the scroll on a communal TV at the Bissell House in Pasadena), the Tudor/Guerrero swap, goddamn Konerko for Shaw that Lasorda bungled ten ways as GM, the famous Alfredo Griffin World Series precursor, and Jim Thome WTF.

Trade trivia answer: Luke Raley & Devin Smeltzer.

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What’s the question?