Rants

Peters was not a knuckleballer!

Well, I am pretty sure that is not your name, but I am not making fun of it. I am making light of it!

A few catchers too and rightly so.

A few catchers too and rightly so.

My prediction, regardless how the Dodgers are playing this coming year, there will be people clamoring for Roberts to be fired.

I pulled a number out of my ass and got 99.

Don’t watch FB , but noticed half way through the 3rd nobody’s kicking anybody’s ass.

I totally agree. They signed a bunch of SS in the international signings.

–Peralta isn’t needed, but an offer of Sheehan + Bobby Miller + Ward could get a conversation started. –To make the lineup younger, give Kim a full-time opportunity to prove himself. Unlike UT peers Edman, Rojas and the new guy, Kim isn’t a finished product. –Also to get younger, give Rushing occasional starts in LF, 1B and DH. Teo, Freddie and Shohei may benefit from the rest as Rushing gets a chance to get his swing working. He also has much to prove.

A lot of us here, including me, used to be eager to move Mookie to 2B to ease his aging body. Even the brass thought Lux should play SS, not 2B, before demonstrating that he really shouldn’t. And so Mookie stepped up and stepped over… and now is considered one of the top SSs in the game. Amazing. This despite the illness that sapped his strength early last season. Now I think we have at least 3 more seasons with Mookie at SS before he moves to 2B.

Baseball America podcast on the Dodgers system: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-america/id201539011?i=1000745118152

What were their projections for last year and how accurate was that.? I did a AI-computer-psychic analysis and came up with 89.3–107.72 for next year

Not sure exactly why that is, but the majority of pitchers who threw the knuckler with any success were right-handed. Wilhelm, Hough, Candiotti, Wakefield. A pitch many lefties use that you don’t see many right handers using is the screwball.

Neither do I, but Mookie takes care of his body. Like I said, he won’t be an everyday player, but he will contribute anyway he can. I can see him as one because I have seen some great players in that role, including Albert Pujols.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ projected win total for the 2026 season varies slightly by source, with the PECOTA projection at 103.4 wins. Other prominent oddsmakers and projection systems have slightly different figures. 2026 Win Total Projections Source Projected Wins (O/U) PECOTA 103.4 DraftKings 102.5 BetMGM 99.5 FanDuel 104.5 ZiPS/FanGraphs 93

Hoosiers will destroy Miami. Easiest bet in history. Forget your kids’ college savings; bet your grandkids’!

Mookie is 33 years old and still capable of a bounce back year. 40 is 7 years away

New to this baseball Substack, but appreciated this analysis: https://downonthefarm.substack.com/p/pay-the-big-dawgs-simulating-the

This is interesting. Is this because anyone left-handed with any arm talent pretty much doesn’t need a gimmick pitch? Or are there weird mechanical/aerodynamic issues with throwing a knuckler from the left. It’s gotta, gotta, gotta be the former, right? (pun?)

Don’t discount his commitment, I don’t believe he will be physically able at 40 to do the things he is used to doing. I can’t imagine him playing at a level unacceptable to his standards. I hope I’m wrong. He and Freddie are a Godsend to the Dodgers. Players like them are what sets them apart from the other teams in baseball. As I said, hopefully I’m wrong. But I don’t see Mookie as a role player. Go Hoosiers!

A lot of players are still playing at 40. Mookie is committed to honoring his contract by age 40 he may well be in the Miguel Rojas role. Don’t discount the man’s desire to do right by the Dodgers. He may do exactly what Bill Russell did and slip into the backup role and occasional pitch hitting role.

I watched that, It was pretty interesting.

Not so according to Wikipedia. They have a list of all the pitchers who used the knuckleball as their primary pitch and Peters is not on that list. He could very well have used it as a secondary pitch, but he was not known and a knuckleballer. Danny Boone, a relief pitcher for the Padres was left-handed and a knuckleballer. Ryan Freeland, 2000-01, Mickey Haefner, 43-50, are the only other lefties on the list, and only Haefner was a starter.

Mookie won’t be playing at 40. Can’t see him hanging on past being productive and one of the best players in the game. He’s primed for a big bounce back season in 2026. He should be in great shape and fully healthy unlike last year. Like Betts, I expect Max to have a very solid season this year. If he stays healthy, look for him to put up 25 plus homers. His defense will be the biggest concern. The biggest concern I have is with Pages. I’m hoping his October swoon doesn’t carry over into this season. If it doesn’t, then the Dodgers outfield will be one of the best in baseball. It’s entirely possible that the Dodgers have 6 players with 30 homers. The offense will be much stronger with Tucker in it. Second base is really the only spot with a little uncertainty. Edman’s health. Kim’s sophomore year. Rojas’ age. Kim could turn into a force defensively! He’s already a beast on the bases. His bat? We’ll see. Dalton? Hopefully he gets enough AB’s to keep him productive. Call? Not sure what he brings to the table. Good defense? Yes. Not much power though. Kike? Biggest question still remaining. We all know how much he means to the team. I’m sure he will be a Dodger if it’s up to him. Not sure AF. will sign him just to make the rest of the squad happy. The pitching ? The Peralta rumors are fascinating. Helluva pitcher ! But so is Emmit. Seems like it would be more of a move to keep him away from others more than anything else. So unless they actually want to extend him, I don’t think they should move Sheehan. Emmit could still be included in a deal for Donovan or Hoerner. Heck, they have pissed off the baseball community, one more ain’t going to matter!

Dodgers star Mookie Betts plans to retire after his contract with Los Angeles ends. “In an appearance with John Cena on the Roku miniseries “What Drives You with John Cena,” Betts confirmed that he will retire following the 2032 season, at which point he’ll be 40 years old”.“I’ll be 40, my little girl will be 14, my son will be 10,” Betts told Cena. “My parents were always there, and I want do that same thing for my kids.”