Dodgers: #8 Farm System

They are going to cost us games again. Story on Twitter says Freeman will sign with either the Dodgers or Red Sox after the lockout. I think he is pretty fed up with the Braves.

MLB Trade Rumors reports that MLB suggested a federal mediator be use to help negotiations and that the Union has declined. They mistakenly suggested that mediation didn’t make any sense because MLB hadn’t made a counter-offer to the Union’s latest demand. They don’t know how labor mediation works.

If MLB had made a new offer then the onus would be on the Union to counter. A mediator’s involvement isn’t predicated on who made the last offer or whether a counter was on the table. A mediator’s job is to take an objective look at the entire situation and to try to find potential avenues for agreement. Part of this is to look for weaknesses in each side’s position. Part of this is to suggest alternatives that haven’t yet been considered by the parties. There are many facets, but MLB suggesting mediation means that they don’t believe that they can reach agreement without the intervention of a third-party neutral.

The Union’s refusal means a number of things. One is that they don’t plan on giving additional ground on key issues at the current time. Another is they are playing “hardball” and are displaying their willingness to dig in their heels and thus don’t care if the season is delayed. (The players don’t get paid during the off-season and a delay would mean that players under contract would not get paid after the season is supposed to start).

MLB has used federal mediation to assist with bargaining in the past, and a mediator was brought in after the disastrous 1994 season. The process can help if the parties are willing to settle. A mediator won’t help if the parties aren’t ready to settle yet or if they are still so far apart that he can’t help bridge the difference.

The fact that the Union declines mediation means that we are no where close to resolution.

Over at Dodgersway.com a possible trade for Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez would consist of Lux, Andy Pages, Landon Knack and Jose Ramos. What say you guys?

William, Biden’s economy has fallen short on job numbers each quarter. So, while GDP is up, it should have rebounded higher. You seem to be ignoring empty shelves and the higher prices everywhere.

Texas isn’t having books removed from libraries, they are having books with sexual content removed from elementary school libraries. Look into the details, don’t just read the headlines.

If our biggest threat was climate change, why did Biden close the XL pipeline and remove sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline? Obviously climate change doesn’t affect Russia? If we aren’t doing anything about climate change in regards to Russia and China, it isn’t the problem that they’re making you think it is.

Why are they pushing electric vehicles and hybrids so fervently? Hybrids only get slightly better mileage, but need rare earth metals that cause devastating pollution in the countries where they mine the materials that are needed. The spent batteries aren’t being recycled because it’s cheaper to exploit cheap labor in third world countries to keep mining the raw materials for new batteries.

Mark is exactly right about your insane statement regarding Trump using his office as his private bank. Are you ignoring all the allegations about Biden accepting China money? How did the Biden family become so rich as a career politician? Ditto for Pelosi and Obama?

Okay, here goes. I was a lifelong Democrat. Became that way when JFK was president. Him getting assassinated was one of the worse days for me. But I stuck with the party while I was in the military. I despised Johnson though, and had little use for Richard Nixon. Gerald Ford was president just long enough to get his buddy off of the hook with a presidential pardon. After I left the Army, and Ford left office, I did not really follow politics all that much. It was work, and family. I had no time for political BS. Carter came along, and I thought he was just too nice of a guy to be president. No cojones. Then the hostage debacle, the failed rescue attempt. To me, he was every bit inept as Biden is now. Reagan had been the governor in California, so I was not real fond of him either. I was more concerned with commercial driving laws and my music. Baseball was a release from all the day to day stuff. Then along came slick Willie. The guy just never resonated with me. I did not vote for him. The other thing that kept me away from politics was all the back stabbing going on. And you read it every damn day in the papers. Well at least I was still reading them back then. But, I was on the road a lot, did not watch the news or listen to it when I was driving. So all the info I got came from USA Today since it was in every truck stop in the country. When 9-11 happened, I was at the JB Hunt terminal in South Gate. So for most of the next day, since everything closed down, we watched the news. Did I believe all the WMD stuff? Probably, because most of the reports said the CIA felt Saddam had them. As for Bush, I am pretty sure although he was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, that he listened, like Johnson had over Viet Nam, to his top military and intelligence people and made his decisions based on their recommendations. At that point, when Obama ran, I was so far away from the Dems that I registered as an independent. Which I still do. For me, tying myself to one party’s political agenda just did not work. After what happened in Benghazi, there was no way I could ever vote for Hillary. You have to understand that in my eyes, both her and Obama were guilty of leaving those people unprotected in a hostile environment. Why did I vote for Trump? The reason was simple. he was not a politician. He was not part of the I do this for a living old boys network. He was a maverick, a loudmouth, abusive, and about as blunt as they come. He brought a business mans perspective to the office. Corrupt? I do not know, I have no evidence, but I doubt there are very few career politicians who are not dirty in some way. I have gotten that cynical. I do not trust the federal government at all. They all have their own agenda’s. And anyone who says they put the needs of the country and its citizens above all else, is delusional. Our border is a sieve. Our biggest enemies have little respect for the people in charge.

CBA News: MLB has requested a federal mediator be brought in to help with the negotiations. That will only happen if the players agree to it.

If they do, I suggest they make sure that the mediator is not named Manfred.

Not my blog, but I’ll again reiterate that publishing for free viewing content that costs money is unethical (IMHO ONLY).

I pay for Baseball America. I pay for content I consider good.

As the economists would say, we shouldn’t enable free riders.

I think that political discussion can be stimulating if it is within moderate bounds. From my perspective the “politics” of LA Dodger Talk skew quite a bit to the Right. That is fine, if that is the viewpoint of the vast majority of the posters here. But it is not my point of view, and there is no point in my arguing another side of it; it would not be appreciated or supported.

No one here is going to change their “Biden is terrible, he is ruining the country; the economy is awful; anything that one doesn’t like is his fault in his one year in office; oh, if we could only get Trump or DeSantis or Hawley or Youngkin in there.” views, because of anything I would say. I think it would be horrifying, the end of democracy, but I can’t convince you of that. At least California is strongly Democratic; it is the Red states which are daily trying to turn this country into a Radical Right religious state where only Republicans will ever be allowed to win elections, because they will make sure that not enough Democrats can vote; and that even if one wins a race, the state legislatures can just throw the results out and hand the election to the Republican.

In the rest of the world, and history, that would be known as totalitarianism and fascism, but to the Right, it is ideal. Thus ends democracy in all but name only. Many absolutely totalitarian regimes try to pretend that they are democratic or open. The Nazis pretended that they were socialists. Russia holds elections. It is just for show. That is what we are looking at, in my view.

I won’t belabor this in long paragraphs . I will just make a few more brief comments.

1. The Biden economy is doing very well. Unemployment down to 3.9%. GDP rose 5.7%. Supply chain disruptions, due to the pandemic, mostly solved. 6.4 million new jobs. The only major problem is inflation, which is worldwide, and scarcely Biden’s fault in one year, but he has to try to fix it. Biden is by no means perfect. I thought the best potential president in the last twenty years was Hillary, but the media did everything they could to stop her. People here probably hate Hillary, and that’s the way it goes.

2. Texas is having books removed from libraries at a record pace. This is the Republican playbook, it is happening in Florida and Virginia, too. The people who made up the term “cancel culture” are of course the McCarthyites and book burners of old. Any book that they don’t like, they want removed from the shelves. Does the Left do that, too? Yes, it is appalling to me that they have been as doctrinaire and censorship-demanding as they have, but they never actually elect people who tell the citizens that they should monitor their children’s teachers, and report them if they say anything they don’t like. That is Orwellian, and that is the world they are trying to create.

3 . Our biggest threat is climate change. Republicans in office have no intention of doing anything about it, while Democrats try to. That should be enough to keep anyone who loves nature and the open spaces from voting for Republicans, but it obviously does not.

I will leave it at that. Baseball can offer a respite, though I hate the idea of robot umpires!

Our country is a mess because political office has become a lifelong profession which requires millions and millions of dollars to maintain. Where does that money come from and who are they beholding to? Toe the line or you’re out! They’re not looking out for the interests of anyone but themselves and their kingmakers!

Hi guys – greetings from a sunny Tenerife. 10 couples having a bit of Winter Sun. Been brilliant fun.

Talking Politics is an American pastime, it’s never gonna change, so it doesn’t bother me one way or the other.

Interestingly, I have no idea of the voting habits of my friends that I’ve just spent the last few days with, as it never ever gets discussed.

What has peaked my interest is the post from B&P regarding the strength of the NL -and specifically the odds on the Dodgers winning the WS.

In the Uk we are the clear favourites at 5/1 to win.

Now I’m not as knowledgeable as you guys, but I do watch and follow Baseball very closely including the movement of players between teams.

I always back the Dodgers out of loyalty, but I definitely do not see us as the clear favourite this year, and I agree that the Braves are the most likely winners of the 22 WS at this time, and even more so if the resign Freddie.

Unbelievably the Braves are available at 16/1 and I cannot understand that?

As you can imagine, I’ve been lumping on.

So, my question is – am I missing something or am I right in thinking that 16/1 is an absolutely ridiculous price for the Braves to win again in 22?

And should I keep lumping on lol???

With Ozuna & Acuna jr to return as well….

Never been politically correct, never will be. I call em as I see em. Roberts said in an interview that the toughest part of the lockout is not being able to connect with his players. Finding out where they are training wise and such. Especially important when you have guys who finished the season hurt, or those coming back from a major injury. Guys like May, who I saw in a video on Twitter doing some long toss, Kahnle, Ferguson, Muncy, J.T, a new guy like Heaney. He also said that AF has told him he thinks there will be a lot of movement player wise once the lockout is over. I was kind of hoping that cooler heads would prevail, but it is pretty obvious that MLB is playing hard ball this time. In that sense, I have to believe they are cutting their own throats because there are going to be some fans who are fed up with this BULLSHIT. Myself included.

“ I just have reached the point in my life where, as much as I love the Dodgers, this country is more important and I will not shut up. ”

Statement of the year! Thank you Mark. And I will add, there is something that is rather, dare I say, unmanly, about some of those who get upset when political topics enter a discussion.

How’s that for a little political incorrectness!

The Constitution gives qualified citizens the right to vote it also gives those citizens the right to freedom of speech. One is not dependent upon the other they have both rights afforded to US citizens.

I am responding to Dodgerpatch:

I am one of the “uncomfortable” ones you address though you attribute things to “uncomfortable ones” that do not pertain to me. That’s the kind of thing that makes me uncomfortable. You say for instance that we are uncomfortable because we do not like Mark’s politics. Not so. I appreciate his politics because I feel Washington has become inefficient at meeting the real needs of people. You say I don’t like “the politics” of LA Dodger Talk. That is not what I said. I said that I don’t like politics as a part of LA Dodger Talk. I would like for LA Dodger Talk to be talk about the LA Dodgers. I did allow however that that is really the business of Mark and it is his to decide. This is not out of malice, but rather a simple statement of preference for what it is worth. After attributing to me your guesses about what I am thinking, you tell me what I ought to do to learn the truth and to present it “not with insults or indignation” ( Wow, talk about Rubicons that have been crossed . . . .) So, I will skip over political posts, and you will understand that my silence is not agreement.

I don’t vote because I don’t see anybody to vote for. And if that makes me ‘The problem’ then I’m fine with that. Put something in front of me and I’ll deal with it as I see fit. My politics are not left or right and all you voters out there ain’t doing anything any better than I am with this attitude. I’m not against voting. when someone worth voting for is on the ticket I might vote till then let the wind blow.

I agreed at the time that we are a top 10 system. I used pretty simple math to figure it out, but I don’t want to go back to the original discussion to paint the picture again. I also argued that organizational rankings only consider the prospects that are currently in the top 100, which is a pretty stupid way of doing the ranking. Maybe lazy would be a better word than stupid. I also argued at the time that in reality, we are better since we have more prospects outside the top 100.

So, Baseball America has us at 8 with the following prospects…

Cartaya – 23

Vargas – 40

Miller – 38

Busch – 76

Pepiot – 99

The only one of these that has a decent chance of graduating the lists this year by exceeding rookie status is Pepiot and that’s a long shot given how deep the Dodgers bullpen is.

Curiously absent from this list is Pages and Leonard who both appear on at least one other top 100 list. This means that there’s a good chance that we have 7 players on the top 100 list as early as mid season, barring trades that send any of them to the list of another team. There could be more if Yurchak, Lewis or Taylor keep mashing or if one of the teenagers like De Jesus, Galiz, Rodriguez or Bruns break out in a big way.

It’s a very exciting time to be a prospect hugger and a Dodgers fan.

On a side note, I just spent 72 bucks filling up at the station this morning. Let’s go Brandon!

Do you think it’s a worthy goal for the Dodgers to legitimately pursue a World Series title this year? Or, would you settle for just making the playoffs and hoping they get lucky and win it all? The latter is actually not a bad strategy. The Braves weren’t the best team in the NL last year, the Dodgers and the Giants were, but they were the best when it mattered. That’s what AF had done prior to 2020 – create a sustainable winning franchise that doesn’t overextend, but puts the team in a position to win each year.

AF deviated from his prior template and went all in to win it all last year. He saw the opportunity to be “pigs.” They came up short.

Right now, the Dodgers are decent. They might win the division and will probably make the playoffs. They are not World Series front runners. They have a hole in the batting order with Seager’s departure, JT is a year older, they’ve not addressed the pathetic bench that did nothing for them last year, and are probably two starting pitchers short of having the depth needed to sustain a full season and get through the playoffs. If either Buehler or Urias have to spend time on the injured list, they’re done.

So, what do you do? Stand pat? Pray that the Dodgers #8 ranked farm system injects enough cheap talent to make a difference? Sorry, but as good as Bobby Miller might turn out to be, he ain’t helping this year. Maybe if you’re AF, you start the season as is and look to pluck someone off a losing team at the trade deadline. If the Reds are treading water, Luis Castillo will be cheaper at the deadline than he is now. Still, Castillo’s not a difference maker. Scherzer was, and even he came up short at the end.

If the Pasadena DA declines to press charges – and it’s somewhat mind boggling that a decision hasn’t been made – I think you just have to hold your nose and bring Bauer back. There will be teeth gnashing by Knights/Noslers/et al, but it will pass. Bauer’s already under contract and he solves a major problem.

Freeman will likely sign with the Braves, but he would fill Seager’s hole in the order, and 180 million is a lot more palatable than 325 million. With Freeman at 1rst, Muncy goes to 2nd, TT to SS, Lux continues to work on playing the outfield and he becomes the left hand version of CT3, which partially solves the bench problem. When Trea Turner leaves in free agency next year, and I think he’s gone after next year, Lux perhaps slides over to his original position at SS.

About politics – It was probably better when this site was apolitical, but that Rubicon has been crossed. I read several comments here about how some are “uncomfortable” with the politics here. That’s not entirely correct. You are uncomfortable with Mark’s politics and his expression of them. That’s understandable. If I was left leaning and consumed left leaning media, I’d be uncomfortable with Mark’s opinion, too. I despise Dustin Nosler, more generally because of his politics, but specifically because he’s abusive, and his forum of minions is a toxic cesspool of illiterate bullies that is modern Woke politics in microcosm. We all have our political biases.

The folks here who are “uncomfortable” with Mark’s politics can simply leave and avoid this place and its discomfort, but withdrawing into our echo chambers doesn’t do our culture any good. It’s making it worse, actually. It is easy to simply label something as “MISINFORMATION!” and avoid the substance of the argument. The same people calling for Joe Rogan to be deplatformed are the same people who, till their last breath, will be convinced that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the election – which, we now fully know, was a manufactured lie promulgated by the main stream media that, I argue, did more to poison the political dialog than any other single act of “misinformation” in our nation’s history.

My suggestion is that people face their discomfort and answer opposing opinions, not with insults or indignation, but sound positions based on facts, not talking points. That’s historically how our liberal (liberal in the classic definition) civilization has discovered better ideas. Addressing the substance of other points of view honestly is how you discover truth.

I just want some baseball. Last night, mainly because it is colder than a well diggers ass here and the snow is falling, so going anywhere was out of the question, I watched my 2020 World Series DVD. Narrated by Vinny of course. It was nice to see a feel good story in the middle of the total disaster the last couple of years have been. What still chaffs my ass is the number of people who still try to say that 2020 wasn’t a real championship because the season was shorter and the Dodgers did not have to play a full season. Hey, every team had the same chance to win that they did. That being said, watching the game four meltdown all over again was a bummer. But being able to see Julio finish it off, well, just made me feel good. Now if the MLBPA and MLB will just get their collective shit together, we can enjoy the game once more. I wish I had some clue what the plan is after the lockout ends. But AF has always been pretty silent about future plans. PS, Biden looks amazingly like Jeff Dunham’s puppet, Walter. Has close to the same mentality too. Anyone notice that the Dodgers signed a couple of kids from Uganda? They also brought in a coach from there to help them. They are going to the Dodgers academy in the Dominican.

Great read Mark. Joe Biden belongs in a nursing home and his son Hunter in jail for peddling his father’s influence around the world in China, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania The fake news wouldn’t make it a story during the election, but now it is all coming to light. A Special Prosecutor should be appointed to investigate,

The Dodger future is bright with many prospects on the way. Let them continue to develop and thrive in the minors this year. Wouldn’t trade any of them even if it means having a down year.

I believe Bleacher Report ranked our system fifth. We keep getting better!

Happy Imbolc, All.

i suspect that regarding the differences in Canadian and US Covid deaths, it may have a lot to do with how deaths are counted. There seems to be a substantial financial gain to be had when a patient dies of Covid in US hospitals.

Maybe Canadians aren’t politer but more honest.

Whatever the statistics are they have no doubt been manipulated for some financial and political gain.

If the truth is ever revealed it will look a lot different than what has been given to us the past 2 years.

May I say, Even Ray Charles can see that.

Count me among those who appreciate the occasional foray into politics. I don’t particularly enjoy it when NFL, or NBA, or some other non- Dodger topics come up either, but I can’t imagine complaining about such discussions and wishing they would go away. Our nation is clearly suffering because there has not been enough intelligent discussion about politics, not too much. As a result we have put people in power who have given us a $30 trillion national debt, a provocatively weak foreign policy, record murder and other criminal activity, huge spikes in the costs of just about everything, a sieve for a border, and failing schools nationwide. Sometimes listening to attempts at political dialogue feels like listening to a Pirates fan explain why the Pirates are a superior team to the Dodgers. Significant facts and the historical record simply don’t matter, only distorted statistics and outright lies which anyone with a high school education should be able to see through in an instant.

Quote: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Trumps tax plan “the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress” several weeks before the 2017 tax law was enacted.

Actual results, 4years later: “Income data published by the IRS clearly show that on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent, as so many Democrats have argued.”

(Justin Haskins, MSN.com)

Another tidbit: “…what has set this (Trump) rise apart is that it’s the first time during the economic recovery that began in mid-2009 that the bottom half of earners are benefiting more than the top half—in fact, about twice as much,” CNBC reported.

Carry on.

I am still of the mind that AF needs to re-sign Kershaw. I also hope he goes after Freeman, in part because there have been a number of DHs who have performed well in their late 30s and even 40s. Ortiz and Cruz quickly come to mind. I

n the near term, Muncy can move to DH (assuming that it is coming) or 2B. It would be great if Lux could really own 2B but like Taylor his greater value may be as a super UT guy, especially if Freeman comes over. (Lux would pair with Taylor as a super UT–one hitting from the left, one from the right, Last season the hope was than McKinstry could replace Kike… Oh well…. Still hope McKinstry comes back strong, of course.)

So, just for grins….

Betts RF

Muncy 2B

T. Turner SS

Freeman 1B

J. Turner 3B

Bellinger CF

Smith C

Pollock LF…

With Taylor and Lux in the wings. And they’d get plenty of starts especially if Muncy, J. Turner, Pollock, etc rotate through DH

I am also of the opinion that management would much rather unload Bauer and his baggage at a considerable loss than incur the various costs of bringing him back. (My guess is a small market team would take on Bauer because of the discount. Would it be too political to suggest that Bauer might be a good fit for Florida?) Re Bauer, I sense little groundswell of support from the fans. But this isn’t just a matter of public relations for the Dodgers, but also internal relations. Seems clear that Bauer has alienated his teammates, coaches and others up the chain. It would probably be best for Bauer that he try to get a fresh start in a new place.

I could rant all day on politics, but let me make just a couple of points.

If you are paying attention, the evidence of a multi-faceted conspiracy to overturn the presidential election keeps mounting. Between the DOJ’s investigation and the Jan. 6 investigation, it’s obvious that there attack on our democratic values began long before the Capitol riot and involved fraudulent actions in several states. Right now the defeated former president is even suggesting that the Georgia prosecutor who is leading the investigation into his pressure campaign to “find” just enough votes is a “racist.” You see, she is black and the DFPis white, got it? And the DFP is also encouraging his supports to wage massive protests if he should be charged with crimes. So folks, would you let him walk? Do you think a POTUS is above the law? Just this one, maybe?

Finally, let me share a little covid research.

If you are of the mind that the USA could not have handled his crisis much better, why have Americans been more than 3X more likely from covid than Canadians? I recently delved into the stats and found this nugget: Canada’s highest per capita covid death rate is in the province of Quebec, which has a population comparable to Virginia. And Virginia, remarkably, has the LOWEST covid death rate in all 50 states–but Quebec’s rate is lower still.

So why has the weakest Canadian province handled the crisis better than America’s top-performing state?

Is it just that Canadians are so polite? Could there be some other factors in play?

Hmmm.

Keith Law released his Top 100 Prospects and there were six Dodgers listed: Cartaya, Miller, Busch Vargas, Pages, Leonard.

He then released a short list of “just missed” and that included Pepiot. He also said that another 4 (whom he didn’t name) could easily have been included had the list been a little longer.

I think the reason the farm system has been disparaged was because the guys we called up last season didn’t perform. But those were never considered our top prospects. The good ones are now a year older and within a couple of years we’ll be seeing a number of them here in L.A.

It will be interesting to see how those prospects affect Friedman’s willingness to pay Bellinger, Urias and Buehler when they become free agents.