Nov 21

Open Thread #3, Winter 2015

Beware the Jabberwock rumor mill, my son!

On a recent conference call, Friedman said he doesn’t yet know what his payroll will be in 2016, but that much of what his group is focused on might not dominate Twitter in the coming months. Then again, Friedman is never one to quash a bad rumor if it can help his cause, so the Dodgers figure to get dragged into plenty of rumor mills they’re not actually attending once again.

That is Mark Saxon of ESPN. This part will not appease package, I’m afraid. Saxon suggests that the Dodgers will be aggressive going after second-tier free agents and dumping older expensive guys:

the Dodgers certainly aren’t giving off the signal that they’re going to be at the head of the line with the biggest check this time around. In fact, they didn’t do that last year under Friedman either.

[snip]

“We’re going to do everything we can to maintain a 90-plus-win team with a really good chance of winning the [National League] West and a chance to win the World Series, while also doing everything we can to get younger. It doesn’t happen overnight,” Friedman said.

Nov 14

Open Thread #2, Winter 2015

I’m calling it winter. The wind is howling through my windows this morning and I needed two blankets last night.

Next month MLB’s Winter Meetings take place. After observing the just-concluded GM meetings, here are Jerry Crasnick of ESPN’s thoughts about what to watch for at the upcoming gathering:

  1. How active will the trade market be?
  2. How serious are the Cincinnati Reds about making trades?
  3. What do the Detroit Tigers need to do to become relevant in the AL Central again?
  4. How can new team president Mark Shapiro and interim GM Tony LaCava plug the pitching holes in Toronto?
  5. How do the St. Louis Cardinals move on from the loss of Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery?

Here is a post from ESPN with upcoming important dates in the offseason and a bunch of links from their writers to stories of free agency, offseason storylines and trades already made.

Nov 04

Open Thread #1, Fall 2015

On November 4, 1922 Howard Carter opened King Tut’s tomb in Egypt

On November 4, 1956 Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary and Budapest

On November 4, 1979 Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Teheran

On November 4, 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in Tel Aviv

On November 4, 2001 the Diamondback’s Luis Gonzalez blooped a single into left field off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning of Game Seven to defeat the Yankees for the World Series Championship

On November 4, 2008 Barack Obama was elected as America’s first black President

And on November 4, 1950 I came forth unto the world, naked and screaming

Nov 01

World Series Game Five, 2015

Here we go. Can the Mets stave off expulsion from the Series or will they succumb to the Royals and the incessant hitting machine that is their lineup?

Royals at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

The pitchers from Game One are matched up again. Edinson Volquez returns from attending his father’s funeral in the Dominican Republic to face Matt Harvey, who took the loss the first time these two righthanders met last week.

If you think the Royals are the latest edition of The Comeback Kids, you’re right: “Kansas City has now won six games this postseason after trailing by multiple runs.”