Believe No One!

… especially not me.  Well, that is the one thing you can believe – I don’t have a clue! Believe that! That’s it.

At the Winter Meetings, some teams are talking, some aren’t.  The ones who are, could very well be putting out propaganda (false information). Some teams have a lot of leaks to the press.  Andrew Friedman’s Dodgers are very tight-lipped.  There are no leaks, except for a few misdirection statements.  Believe none of it. It’s fun to read about alleged trades or signings, but please, take it with a grain of salt.  Even the so-called “insiders” are treated like mushrooms at times (kept in the dark and fed BS).

I am for any trades that make the Dodger better, but I would be careful about trading a few players.  Of course, Buehler, Kershaw, Jansen, Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Ruiz and Lux are probably nearly untouchable and Matt Kemp is untradable. However, the rest of the roster might be fair game.  Here are three players I would protect and not trade:

• ROSS STRIPLING – It seems that everyone wants Corey Kluber (well, maybe not “everyone”), but I would say there’s a reasonable chance (30%) Ross Stripling has as good a record in 2019 as Kluber.  I’m not predicting it, just saying, it could happen.  Many of us forget how unhittable Chicken Strip was for a couple of months last season.  If tipping his pitches caused his demise and he is able to “fix” it, why can’t he continue to pitch like he did during during May and June.  To me, Ross “found” his niche last season by throwing his curve and changeup effectively as well as an unorthodox cutter, along with his slider and fastball. For a time, he was not only the best pitcher on the Dodgers, but was one of the best in baseball. I would not trade him.
• CHRIS TALYOR – A lot of Dodger fans are down on CT3 after his down year in 2018.  They say he had a career year in 2017.  Well, he has had 2 full seasons, so maybe they are right, but I happen to believe they are wrong.  I think 2018 was just a bad year… and it really wasn’t that bad.  In 2017, his OPS was .850, which is near “star status.” In 2018, it was .775, while the “great” George Springer had a .780 OPS.  I am being sarcastic! I think the Dodgers should put CT3 in CF and let him play.  At the end of the day, he will be in the Top Third of Centerfielders.
• ALEX VERDUGO – He traveled a different path than Tony Gwynn as he did not play College Ball, but his bat-to-ball skills are exceptional.  He was told that he was the anointed one and felt entitled.  That doesn’t go away overnight, but Rich Hill and others have helped eradicate that attitude.  This kid could benefit the most from Robert Van Scoyoc’s approach. Verdugo does have incredible hitting skill.  I think he has a stot at greatness… and he has a canon for an arm.

The point is:  I think EVERY Dodger is available at the right price… including Seager and Turner… maybe not Clayton due to his icon status. The point is:  If you think the Indians will trade Kluber for Puig and a bunch of “guys” you will be disappointed. I would like Realmuto, but not at any cost.  This team is very good and could do very little for a while… or they could move a bunch of players.  None of know, but it’s fun to dream.  Just don’t be disappointed if the Dodgers do very little at the Wintger Meetings.

The Wild Card is that with Andrew Friedman, you never know.  By the way, it appears that he is the new GM and will surround himself with Assistants for specific purposes.  That makes more sense to me.

The Athletic

In my opinion, the best Sports Website is The Athletic.  Slowly but surely, they are accumulating many of the best writers in city after city.  It is a “must read” everyday.  It’s a pay site, but you probably spend more per week for Starbucks than  The Athletic costs a year.  Today, Pedro Moura writes about how Dodgers are in Pursuit of a dynamic hitting environment.” Maybe have a clue why Turner Ward left. I’ll give you two paragraphs:

“Let’s think about this differently,” [Friedman] 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.”

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. After his standout 2017 season earned him the National League Rookie of the Year honors, Bellinger produced a more normal but still above-average sophomore season. The totality of the team’s hopes for him, Friedman said, has not yet been conveyed, but he is also bringing along his own ideas.

It is an inspiring article and another tidbit is that Robert Van Scoyoc not only worked with JDM and CT3, but also worked extensively with Gavin Lux before the 2018 season.  We all know how Lux improved. Some really dumb silly people think all the strikeouts are what Friedman wants.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He wants a more consistent offense next year and I really have difficulty with people who say “That’s just what Friedman wants!”  That’s silly – he wants improvement, this the changes.