I Still Believe!

BTW, I guarantee FAZ is working the phones. They won’t make dope-fiend moves, but they aren’t afraid either.

One only has to look at Friedman’s background to know who “overvalued” means. Consider his background in the financial markets. When a stock with a current price that is not justified by its earnings outlook or price/earnings (P/E) ratio, it is called “overvalued” and therefore, is expected to drop in price. That is what he means. He’s smart guy and it would be stupid to think that starting pitching is not important.

–

He could have signed Price or Greinke or even Cueto. Cueto’s deal looked good last year, but right now he has a 5.25 ERA. He got six years and $130 million. I am certain he will crash and burn. Samardzija? 5 years/$90 million for a guy anyone can hit. Price and Greinke? Both in decline and maybe soon to the surgeon.

–

FAZ has signed McCarthy, Hill, Anderson and Kazmir for $48 million or less. Short term deals to players with spotty history…. signed to overvalued but not long-term hamstringing contracts.

–

Who should they have signed?

–

That’s what I want to know. Hindsight is 20/20. Remember that.

–

It kills me when people try and say Urias isn’t all that! Yes he is… and he’s coming. Give him a couple of starts and you will see.

–

If you sign those $100-$200 million contracts you block the youngsters who are coming:

–

2017 – Urias, Stewart and Oaks

2018 – Buehler and White

2019 – Alvarez, May and a bunch more

–

It’s easy to criticize. Maybe they should have taken on a pitcher in decline like Gonzo so it hamstrings the payroll.

–

Thy have rebuilt and are waiting for the farm while remaining competitive – no one rational can say they haven’t!

–

So, if you want to criticize, then tell me what they should have done. That’s the part you always leave out!

Mark

I have been a FAZ supporter, but I am starting to waiver. Here is why.

1. He signs pitchers that he should never sign. A 37 yea old with blister problems. When does FAZ starts to realize that when players reach age 35, their skills start to deminish. You have said he will trade players when their value is still high. He does just the opposite. He signs Utley and Romo. Two guys who have lost it and their teams would not sign them. Agon should of been traded last winter.

2. He keeps players who have a contracts and no options. Hatcher and Avilan. I can live with Avilan, but not Hatcher.

3 He keeps playes who did not have good years last year. SVS and Kike. Coming out of ST Taylor and Segedin were both better. What is ST for if not to have some competition for these positions.

4. I just hate platooning. Put your 8 best players out there and let them compete. If Joc cannot hit lefties, then trade him. Did Robinson and Campy hit lefties and righties. They sure did.

5. Roberts will not put the game in motion. He will not run nor hit and run.

I am not a stat guy. I have used my eyeballs. I do not like what I am seeing. There still is time, but Arizona and Colorado look good to me.

I think that all of us understand that the season has been 162 games since 1961 and that at 8 – 10, the Dodgers have played 11% of their schedule. Sure, it’s early and the team’s performance will wax and wane during the course of the season. I for one am glad to see the team from Baghdad by the Bay suffer and they may have a really tough time of it. On the other hand, many thought that the D-backs would be better this year when some of their best players (like Pollock) recovered from injury and some of their pitchers like Greinke would be better this year. The Rox are always going to hit but if they get any pitching they could be tough as well. All teams have their struggles – the question is why and whether they are structural.

–

This is what concerns me as a Dodger fan. For instance, when Friedman says that starting pitching is overvalued, does he mean overprices or less important than others think? Both meanings are possible. Maybe both? In trying to ferret out his meaning, look at his actions – see who he has signed. McCarthy, Anderson, Kazmir, Maeda, Hill. He has traded for Hill and Wood. Does this assemblage tell you that he thinks that starting pitching is important? Overpriced? Both?

–

And what about getting innings from starters? Here is the recent history of the number of times that Dodger starters have gone 6 IP or more:

2011 – 109 games

2014 – 107 games

2012 – 105 games

2015 – 102 games

2010 – 101 games

2013 – 100 games

2016 – 66 games

Notice a pattern?

–

How about 2017? 7 out of 18 (Kershaw 4/4, Maeda 0/4, McCarthy 2/3, Ryu 1/3, Hill 0/2, Wood 0/2). Non-Kershaw starters have gone 6 or more3/16 games (19%).

–

So I would say that this is a trend that has been going on since the Braintrust has been in charge – so, does Friedman believe that starting pitching is not all that important or overpriced (except for aces) or maybe both?

It is a long season, and a slow start is not fatal but there are some alarming trends. Jansen is barely being used because there are few save situations. Hatcher is being called upon to go multiple innings in high leverage spots. Maeda is physically fine and got an extra day between starts and got rocked and has an ugly ERA. Hill is still searching for a blister cure. The entire team struggles against LHP, and Forsyth on the DL does not help. Last night with bases loaded Puig hit into a DP on a 3-0 pitch and Turner struck out on a nasty 3-2 slider. Hitting with RISP and with bases loaded has been awful all year.

–

There is some good however as Puig looks like a different player and is the only one to start every game. McCarthy coming back healthy and pitching well has been huge for the rotation. Ryu is also healthy and has had excellent breaking pitches yet they have him throwing over 50% fastballs. Like Maeda he has struggled with fastball command and perhaps both should pitch backwards, showing the pitch just to keep hitters off balance. Turner and Seager have been excellent but teams will pitch around them if not protected in the lineup. Wood and Stripling have stood out in the BP. The bench is very versatile as Mark mentioned, and Taylor looks good so far. Kike went deep again and Barnes is good hitter for a backup catcher and has speed. SVS can be replaced anytime and Eibner is a placeholder.

–

I like Bellinger and Dickson and Oaks and think all 3 will have a chance to contribute in the near future. Our reinforcements should come from within before a big trade. AC would know who could help in the BP from OKC but 40 man adjustments to the roster need to be made for all but Oaks. Putting Ethier and Kazmir on the 60 day DL opens some spots. Avilan and Hatcher are out of options to be sent down but Fields will be up and down all year. SVS still has an option, Gutierrez coming back may help and the RH hitting part of LF has not produced so expect more tinkering.

–

I am a glass half full type of fan and have faith but it is being tested. 5 runs back to back on the road should be enough but instead 2 tough games became blowouts late. Az is a good hitting team especially at home, take nothing away from them their at bats were patient and grinding and wore pitchers down. The Rockies are the same type of team, if either get enough pitching and win on the road they are dangerous.

–

The team needs a spark and a win from someone other than Kershaw. Let’s start today with McCarthy and go to SF with Ryu and then Kersh. Let the bats come alive and start grinding out better at bats with RISP. Keep the games close and use Jansen to lock them down.

Mitch White goes tonight. Andre Sopko finally was finally released from the Glendale prison and started for Tulsa yesterday. Did not do well. At least his arm is fresh. Last year, he and Sborz were an effective 1-2. These extended spring training guys are 1-2 months behind the bell curve. I wonder how it feels for them to begin their season in May, when everyone else has been playing for at least a month. No pressure.

So many people still have no clue what FAZ is doing.

–

There are none so blind as those who will not see!

–

Last year, the Indians were 10-12 on May 1st and they went on to win 94 games and then go to the World Series.

–

The Giants were 22 games above .500 at the end of June last year and proceeded to just blow it.

–

Sometimes I wonder if some of you have ever watched baseball or what you are smoking when you do?

A good treatment of the “overvalued” subject in LA Dodger Report. The front office is torched.

The roster is set, except for injury replacements, and they will come from OKC. A real measure of how bad this team is right now will be in the next 10 days when they play the giants a bunch. Both teams suck, so if we lose to them, we REALLY suck. It might be that Colorado and Arizona are 2 of the better teams right now, and the records bear that out, but the damage has mostly been done against the Dodgers and giants. If anyone thinks that Urias will be the savior, don’t forget last year when he was brought up. He was no savior, but rather another 5-6 inning guy or bullpen piece. No great wow. I expect the same from him this year. Just something else to talk about. Interesting that Roberts is talking about how important starting pitching is, while his suits say it is “overvalued”. Maybe “importance” and “value” don’t have the same meaning in Dodger vocabulary, but in the real world, they are the same. I agree with Roberts’ assessment. It IS important, and that is why it is valued so highly. Our suits just can’t distinguish between the good and the mediocre. That is why they say it is overvalued. Right now these starters are mediocre at best.

Twenty runs allowed in the last nine innings. Yowser. Send for reinforcements. The opponents are lickin’ their chops.

It’s April. It happens. We have plenty of time to get this fixed, but some moves should be considered soon now.

Thanks for calming me down. I am still not a big fan of platooning. I believe you should put your best 8 out there almost every game, with the occasional sub giving the regulars a day off. As you said, it’s a long season and we have the brain power to figure it out.