Well, my son, nephew, and I leave for Camelback Ranch at 5:45 AM on Thursday and hope to make it to the first Spring Training versus the Cubs at 1:05 PM. We get into PHX at 8:05 AM. I have two extra tickets for Thursday’s game and one extra ticket for Saturday’s game. These are great seats. I think I paid $67.00 each. Let me know if anyone is interested, or I will scalp them! 😉 Look us up.
I had my back ablation done yesterday and woke up with no pain. It almost made me cry! Wow! They say it takes 4-6 weeks to fully take effect. Here’s what they did – it involved four punctures.
OK, I will stop with the risque photos and go back to Dodger and MLB Baseball.
Rants & Raves
- Justin Turner signed with the Cubs, but no one should get all giddy. His first year in Boston (2023) was about what we expected from him in LA (.800 OPS), but in 2024 (age 39), he dropped to .737. I think he will struggle to be at .700 OPS with the Cubs. In the past three years, Turner’s Exit Velocity and Barrel % have declined, along with his BA, OB%, SLg, and OPS. I hope he does well, but he needs to retire as a Dodger.
- Rafael Devers‘ selfish desire to play 3B could wreck Boston’s Pennant hopes. He is a real tool and dumbass who actually thinks he’s a good 3B!
- The Toronto Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications, which is valued at about $16 Billion Dollars. However, they do not send their announcers on the road because they can’t afford it. Now, we hear that Vlad Guerrero, Jr. has closed negotiations with the Jays and will become a Free Agent. He is a year younger than Juan Soto and like Soto, is not a Defensive Wizard. Could he be a Target of the Dodgers in 2026? Soto is the better hitter, but Guerrero ain’t chopped liver. Last year, he hit .323 with 30 HR and 103 RBI with a .940 OPS. Imagine this:
- Ohtani RF
- Betts SS
- Guerrero DH
- Freeman 1B
- Hernandez LF
- Muncy 3B
- Smith C
- Edman 2B
- Kim/Outman/Edman CF
Just dreaming. Back to reality.
- I have spoken to a couple of friends with knowledge of this: They are not as high on Zyhir Hope as many fans for the same reasons Fangraphs, Eric Longenhagen articulated: “Hope is now physically maxed out. His thighs look like tree trunks and he’s slowed down a good bit already compared to high school. His swing is relatively grooved… In short, I think there’s more strikeout risk here than currently shows in his data, which I don’t trust because of the relatively small sample, the Cal League environment. etc.” He’s not a CF prospect, but his power is real. So was Joey Gallos. We will see what happens at Great Lakes with him this year. If he’s the real deal, he should be at Tulsa by Mid-Season. There is no question that he has prodigious power.
- I also had some who watched Kim in CF predict that he would be the Dodgers’ CF’er this season. I have no opinion, but we will see him playing somewhere tomorrow.
Opening Day Roster Guess (before Spring Training)
- Smith
- Barnes
- Freeman
- Edman
- Betts
- Muncy
- Conforto
- Kim
- Hernandez, T
- Hernandez, K
- Taylor
- Rojas
- Ohtani
- Snell
- Glasnow
- Yamamoto
- Sasaki
- Miller
- May
- Banda
- Grove
- Vesia
- Treinen
- Yates
- Scott
- Kopech
Discussion (26)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Rosario is another October gamer.
His best chance at another ring is with the Bums. He’ll stick around, play for the Comets, and if he’s healthy and hasn’t lost a lot of bat speed…….could be in the mix come Oct. Heck AF might go sign Bucky Dent or Mark Lemke. He loves players with a proven track record in the playoffs.
Book em
i may be wrong Bear, but isn’t the ball live until play stops? Now that being said, in an exhibition game they should have stopped play. That was nasty. Busch stopped and realized he still had to go. He looked visibly upset. Hopefully Bobby isn’t negatively affected by this. …….. Nothing to see here yesterday. Yamamoto looked just fine and most of all he looks healthy and happy! Rosario ? He might make it a tough decision for the front office. i’m not sure if he can elect to become a free agent if they send him down . If pages and Outman struggle, he might be a solid 4th outfielder. … Catman up next!
Not a great first game, but it is spring training. I did not expect much. No Ohtani or Freeman, who won’t start the early spring games at all. He is not running yet. Max ordered not to challenge any pitches. Scary moment for Miller. Even scarier for former teammate Busch. I do not understand how they let the runner score on that play, ball should have been dead after striking Miller. Four former LA pitchers got jobs yesterday. Floro signed a minor league deal with the A’s. Heaney inked a one-year deal with the Pirates. Stripling signed a minor league deal with the Royals and Yarbrough signed a minor league deal with the Jays. Clevinger signed a minor league deal with the White Sox and Rowdy Tellez did the same with the Mariners. LA at the Cubs today in Mesa.
Rosario hit the Dodgers first spring homer. Bote had two hits. Miller hit in the head with a line drive off of the bat of Michael Busch. Cubs up 8-3.
3:05 PM ET at Glendale
Cubs (83-79)
Dodgers (98-64)
Cody Poteet R
0-0 .00 ERA
Y. Yamamoto R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
3B Max Muncy L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
LF E. Rosario L
1B David Bote R
C H. Feduccia L
2B Hyeseong Kim L
DH D. Rushing L
Boone extended through the 27 season by the Yankees. Still waiting to see if LA extends Roberts.
Is anyone at all surprised that Alex Verdugo is still a free agent? There have been zero rumors as to his signing anywhere. ESPN said the teams that possibly could sign him are the Mets, Blue Jays and Pirates. I am pretty sure he won’t be a Yankee or a Dodger again. He is 28 years old.
Wish I were there
As I stated Dodgers 2025 payroll plus competitive balance tax will top $500 million.
Last I saw it said Kopech likely not ready for opening day
I think Gonsolin is underrated and underappreciated. Before he got injured he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Miller has options and until he pulls it together, he can’t carry Tony’s jock. Those numbers in 22 are mind boggling. I like your roster except for Miller. If Tony is healthy, he should be the 5th starter with May in the bully.
Although a couple of trades would change the narrative for sure.
Hard no on Vlad.
Book em
The Royals announced that they have signed ex Dodger right-hander Ross Stripling to a minor league deal and imvited him to Spring Training.
Former Dodger Ross Stripling has signed a minor league deal with the Royals.
MLBTR has a piece on The Dodgers Rotation (nothing new):
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/poll-the-dodgers-rotation.html
I just checked Cincy’s Depth Chart, and Lux is 5th on it at SS, and 6th at 3B. They have him first at 2B, but that is only because they have to see if Matt McLain is healthy. Gavin will wear #2 with the Reds.
I think he will be their DH.
Fox Sports Airing Tokyo Series Between Dodgers & Cubs
“The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs are beginning the 2025 MLB regular season with the Tokyo Series in Japan.The two-game set takes place at the Tokyo Dome from March 18-19, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. local time (3:10 a.m. PT) in both contests”.
If Dodgers target Vlad Guerrero it will be to play 3B (at least until Freeman leaves), there is no way Ohtani is moving off of DH and we will have a glaring need at 3B. Vlad has publically stated that he loves 3B and that is the position he came up playing. If Muncy can improve at the hot corner Vlad can be passable there.
According to the Dodger’s official page,Yamamoto starts against the Cubs in tomorrow’s first Spring training game at 3PM ET.The game will be broadcast on the MLB Network. Pitching starts are always subject to change.
Miller also has options I believe if he doesn’t gain his mojo by the end of spring.
I was wondering will the three Japanese players have three separate interpreters in the the dugout along with another Korean one for Kim?
I believe Gonsokin will be given every opportunity at some point early in the season to crack the rotation, in part because of his pre injury success, but also because the Dodgers gravitate towards team first guys and Gonsolin definitely put the team first in continuing to pitch while injured. The discussion around player frame size brings back the nightmare trade of Pedro Martinez based on those same assumptions about smaller frame durability. Sad.
There isn’t going to be as many spring battles this year in my opinion. Gonsolin, May and Miller for the last two pitching spots and Can Pages or Outman out battle Rojas or CT3 for the final position spot? I honestly don’t see Grove making the team unless there is a spring injury. I would rather see Pages on the team and feel he’s a better option then Rojas off the bench but I know Rojas is a team leader in the clubhouse. I would rather see Rojas coaching the team in some capacity as we have a lot of SS options this year. Have fun at Camelback Mark. I got tickets for the March 8th game against the White Sox. The team should be almost ready to head to Tokyo by then.
Unless Miller just implodes in Spring Training, I think they will have him or May as the 5th starter. Bobby’s rapport with Blake Snell is a big part of that reason.
Excited about May and Miller this year. Ride ’em hard. Same with Gonsolin.
I think Gonsolin is head and shoulders better than Grove. Noticed you left Tony off your 26man roster.
We don’t need Guererro. Ohtoni will never be a right fielder and Guererro will never be a Dodger. Bet it!!! He will not be worth what he will eventually get paid in free agency.