What do the So-called Experts Know?

Absolutely nothing!

• Fox Sports named the Los Angeles Dodgers among the Loosers at the trade deadline.
• ESPN+ also included the Dodgers among the losers.
• The Athletic called the Dodgers “snoozers.”
• MLB.com listed seven teams as winners… but not the Dodgers.
• The Sporting News listed the Dodgers among the trade deadline losers!
• Yahoo Sports named the Doders among the losers.
• SI.com had the Dodgers even but said. “But it’s reasonable to wonder why another pitcher or two wasn’t added instead.“

Damn the experts- what do they know? It turns out… very little. They do not understand Andrew Friedman. Some of you don’t either. The experts were wrong about the Dodgers trade deadline acquisitions, and when they parrot that the Dodgers will be prime players for Ohtani, they are really uninformed! While some of you seem to love to beat the Shohei Ohtani drum over and over (maybe magically thinking that the more you say it, the more true it becomes), you have to understand that Andrew Friedman understands how to mitigate risk. Signing Ohtani for $500,000,000 million dollars is like buying a large amount of just one stock for your financial portfolio. No one in their right mind does that! Andrew Friedman is not afraid of risk – he understands statistics and probability, but he also understands how to hedge his bets. Andrew Friedman can buy four other very good players for what Ohtani costs. Let that sink in.

Would you rather have one superstar who pitches and hits or four more really good players to go with your existing cadre of stars? At 30 years old, I do not care how much Ohtani trains and works at his craft – he is entering the years where he absolutely will experience an injury, and since he is both a hitter and a pitcher, you can double that exposure. Something very strange will have to happen in order for him to sign Shohei.

Many of you concocted all sorts of trades for all kinds of players, “The Dodgers need two more starters, a RH bat, and a lockdown reliever.” I have been watching Andrew Friedman for years and knew he was not going to gut the farm in order to do that! Instead, he took the approach that he needed two platoon players who hit lefties well (Kike and Rosario), and he got a reliever many of you despise (Kelly). Then he went out and got an “innings eater” in Lance Lynn… banking that a tweak here and there and being on a good team could change everything, and a swingman lefty who is also an innings eater. While everyone was playing checkers and thinking of that next big move, Friedman was playing chess. Perhaps no team has improved at the trade deadline as much as the Dodgers. Yet, many of you persisted in proclaiming that Friedman was crazy… like a fox, he was! He also understands “team chemistry” and how important that is!

All year, many fans have been chanting that the Dodgers needed to trade Busch, Vargas, and others for a proven hitter or pitcher. You haven’t been paying attention. Yes, Andrew traded for Betts in a blockbuster deal, and he signed Freddie Freeman, but he also got JDM for $10 Million (which may be the steal of the century), and now he has to try and sign Will Smith long-term (that won’t be easy). Max Muncy has a $10 Million option next year that is a no-brainer. Matt Chapman, anyone? It’s possible, but have you been watching Andrew?

A few days ago, the Dodgers traded two lower-level minor leaguers to the White Sox for international bonus pool money. The Los Angeles Dodgers went into the 2022-2023 international signing period with only $4,144,000 to spend, which is tied with the Texas Rangers for the lowest bonus pool in the Majors. So, they beefed up that amount (Yawn, “So what?”). What’s the big deal?

According to several industry sources, #Dodgers are on the verge of signing highly touted pitching prospect Hyun-suk Jang. Jang recently announced that he is NOT entering #KBO draft this year and that he intends to sign w/ #MLB org.

— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) August 7, 2023

Yesterday’s News

• Taking 3 out of 4 from the Padres in their own ballpark was awesome, but to beat them down in the process was priceless!
• The Dodgers are now four games ahead of the Midgets, nine games ahead of the Titanic Diamondbacks, and 11 games ahead of the Clowns down the road! The Dragon up the Freeway just killed your season Peter Seidler! Boo Yah!
• Tony Gonsolin was able to throw 93 to 94 MPH, but he was also throwing a lot of junk. It’s easy to say he has arm issues, but I don’t think that is it. I tend to think that both he and Julio are victims of their success. Other teams have studied them and are more in tune to what they are doing than before. They need to evolve.

How about a little Fatboy Slim?