What's next?

Great column by the amazing Andy McCullough:

My grandson thought our post season was a result of the hundred plus win curse. Could be but in any case I am still thankful for the last two years. The World Series last year was one of the best of my life and it is indeed The Golden Age of Dodger Baseball. Looking forward to next year. I will be rooting for the Brewers in the series.

Game 4 was reflective of many issues that the Dodgers dealt with this season. Especially, in the last couple of months and in the playoffs. Hitting into double plays, poor execution hitting with RISP, inconsistent pitching by the BP, and severe slumps by once reliable stars.

The biggest threat for the team and all of baseball is the possible lockout by the owners. The "poor owners" should be thankful that there are owners spending crazy amounts of money on players. A specific player or players help create interest in the game. With the added interest the value of all teams increase. So, no on a salary cap. Yes, on a floor so the money that large market teams give to the smaller market teams go toward improved player development, scouting, or free agent signings. Far too long these greedy "billionaire" owners pocket the shared money instead of putting a better product on the field for their fans.

As for the Dodger team, if the schedule starts on time, what can we expect from the front office? With AF and BG there seems to a surprise signing or two every offseason. I don't expect a big contract FA signing. But, again, let's see what happens.

There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed. At this time, too many to list here. I trust the front office to do the right thing to get some of the vets back on track while including some prospects into the mix. Or to use some of these prospects in trades. Let's hope baseball and the Dodgers have a successful offseason.

Carry on

Someone suggested they trade some of their minor league talent to the Orioles for SS Gunnar Henderson. They were beaten by the better team, pure and simple. Miggy Ro will get a job in the organization, perhaps coaching minor league infielders. Roberts was also classy in his praise for the Brewers who were well prepared and simply took LA out of their game. MLB's worst nightmare is happening though. No major market teams in the World Series. It will be interesting to see what the viewership ratings are.

Couldn't help but think back to Joe Davis's call at the end of last years world series when we beat the Blue Jays, "To be the champ, you have to knock him out". Well the Brewers knocked us out, granted they are not champs yet but I'd have to think they will be favored over the Guardians or Rays.

I will be watching the World Series but it's probably not going to do well with the T.V. ratings being 2 smaller teams. I am a baseball fan first and a Dodger fan second.

Will do it all over again when ever MLB gets the labor situation figured out. Who knows what that will bring. It will play out like a shit show like it always does. Millionaires VS Billionaires doesn't interest me in the least. Just figure it out.

Have to wonder where this Dodger team fits in historically. If they would have gotten the "Three Peat" they would have been considered one of the greatest. It's been a great run and not disappointed in the least.

I probably won't post much until the games resume and wish all the daily posters well. I will be reading the banter though.

Something I haven't seen mentioned much here is how pathetic the Dodgers home attendance was during this playoff run. Are the fans just disinterested at this point and bored with this aging team? They didn't sell out any of their 4 home postseason games, and the atmosphere was as bland as I've ever seen for any playoff game. I know the 5pm start times didn't help but the top level looked half full even during the later innings.

“If there is a season next year... there will be one, the question is How Long?”

A shorter season would benefit this group.

BTW... While I'm visiting Shanghai, I find the China's Great Firewall won't let me access the NY Times (and Wordl), Facebook or Gmail. Thank goodness I can get to LADodgerTalk! I do hope that Hong Kong never becomes fully integrated into China, as many fear. I'd miss a lot more than just Wordl.

It was a rough series with the Brewers. The boys just didn’t seem to have the moxie that they usually did or the look in the eyes like we’re going to win this no matter what. The team looked a little out of place- deer in the headlights.

There seemed to be friction within the clubhouse as well… that’s going to have to get settled in the off-season.

I don’t think it’s outside of the realm of possibilities that the Dodgers go after Skubal and keep him on. I like Glass and I think he brings a lot of personality to the team and in the dugout, but generally feel he’s gonna get moved on to a different team for next year. Because of the relationship that Skubal and Snell have, I imagine Blake will remain on the team for next year.

Sho- definitely too much drama at the end of the season with him. To be honest, I don’t know who was calling the shots at the end, but you could definitely tell he was injured and needed a break. His impact as a dominating DH is much more important than winning a couple of pitching games. Which is why I think he goes back to just being a DH and then we go after Skubal and keep him on for that dominating pitcher.

I hope the Dodgers work on keeping the Management in place. When you look at strong teams that have kept their managers you think of the Kansas City Chiefs and how they’ve just dominated with the group that they’ve had. Look at the Detroit Lions who just have not been able to get back on track after losing their offensive and defensive coordinator. The team should’ve worked harder to keep that core together and win a Super Bowl. I hope the Dodgers keep their core group, bring on Miggy as a coach and get things going for next year.

All of Mark's predictions seem plausible, but a few strike me as highly unlikely. Still, some interesting crystal-balling! I keep coming back to the uncomfortable matter of Kyle Tucker and his too big to fail contract--which is also too big to trade. Could he succeed Freddie at 1B in 2027? Plausible, but not likely. To my knowledge, Tucker has no experience at 1B, so this seems like a long shot at best. Bryce Harper made a successful transition to 1B, but it took time. (We remember the Joc Pedersen experiment, right? Not every outfielder can do it.) Now indulge me in imagining that JdP had been drilled and groomed for 1B for that past 3 years, logging Gladwell's 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery. If not mastery, I'd settle for competence. It might have made him competent 1B even if he still isn't a competent outfielder. But I digress.) All considered, if the Dodgers brass decides that Freddie is too damn old and declining to keep around--I'd place the odds at 50-50--then I think Tibbs would be the frontrunner to be his successor. Or perhaps Rushing, if he's deemed healthy. Or maybe--eventually--Shohei, depending on how his playing future unfolds. Anyway, I think it's very likely the Dodgers are stuck with Tucker in RF for the foreseeable future--meaning the contract that guarantees him another $180million over the next three years. If Tucker can ever find his old mojo and (at least) play like an all-star again, this could be OK. So assuming that JdP takes over LF, then perhaps Sirota competes with Ehrhard to the 4th outfielder.

Next up: The "shortstop of the future." Hey, remember when AF traded for Mookie and people started calling him the Dodgers "shortstop of the future"? Me neither. Mookie has certainly exceeded expectations--but we still expect him to shift to 2B eventually, right? But maybe not until 2028. So the SS of the future might be Emil Morales--unless he's the 3B of the future. If the Dodgers decide they really want that a new SS, it could happen sooner rather than later. I don't think they'll target at prospect like de Vries, simply because even top prospects are suspects until they prove otherwise. So a trade for a PROVEN high-calibre SS like Jeremy Pena makes sense. The boldest move would be a blockbuster for Elly de la Cruz. (The cost might include JdP + Freeland + an SP, but de la Cruz looks like an MVP waiting to happen.) Mark has Freeland in his lineup, but I don't see it. Player-born-with-a-clubfoot is an easy guy to root for, of course, but Freeland had plenty of opportunity this season to outplay guys like Rojas, Edman and Kike. Freeland had his moments, but he never showed that he'd be an upgrade over the old guys. In the postseason, Freeland was passed over for Kim. Yes, Freeland might succeed Miggy or Kike, but his best value for the Dodgers could be as a trade chip to help bring in a guy like Pena--especially if Davalan emerges as a 2B option in the spring. Alternative Freddie-less lineup and roster:

Shohei DH Mookie 2B Max 3B Pages CF Tucker RF Smith C de Paula LF Pena SS Tibbs 1B

Bench: Edman, Sirota, Kim, Feduccia

Oh, by the way, the Dragons beat the Canadian Academy of Shanghai 10-3 tonight, with my crafty centerfielder batting lead-off. He went 3-for-4, with a double, two singles, a stolen base, two runs scored and one RBI. Tomorrow comes the big rematch against Manila in the championship game. I'm hoping my boy, who took the L while throwing 100 pitches against Manila this morning, gets a chance to imitate the '25 Yamamoto tomorrow. His arm seems to made of rubber....

Where’s Shohei in that “wild ass guess” proposed 2027 line-up. That line-up does Not make the Dodgers the prohibitive favorite for post season success.

Will there be changes?….yes but no Shohei, four rookies, with two of them in the starting line-up, Tucker at 1B and no Rushing (pure speculation but out for the year seems like a stretch). We all know your schtick is to create controversy with hyperbolic statements only to marginalize and berate others who do the same.

Mountain Mover you’re better than that.