As it stands, Max Scherzer and Corey Seager have left the Dodgers for greener pastures. Kenley Jansen may have found several teams willing to give him a longer term contract than the Dodgers are. They did re-sign Chris Taylor. Trea Turner can slide from second base to shortstop, where he’s played most of his MLB career. They’re hoping Max Muncy returns to full health, but he admitted earlier in the week that he’d torn his UCL in that last game and he wasn’t healing as quickly as he’d like.
They need starting pitching; right now they have Walker Buehler and Julio Urías. They need to re-sign Clayton Kershaw not just for sentimental reasons but because he’s still a very good starter. Their other starters include David Price and Tony Gonsolin and possibly newly-signed Andrew Heaney, whom they believe they can help improve and reduce his tendency to give up home runs.
Heaney has allowed home runs at a higher-than-average clip in three of the past four years, and he was among the game’s most homer-prone arms this past season. The former first-round pick allowed 2.01 HR per nine innings in 2021, a rate eclipsed by just five other hurlers (minimum 100 IP).
On the free agent market, the best starting pitching remaining includes Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Carlos Rodón. Trading for starters is another option, of course. And they’re waiting for Dustin May to rehabilitate from Tommy John surgery.
The lockout precludes any activities by teams or players until a new collective bargaining agreement is completed, so we may be in limbo for a while.
NPUT
Gnat gnews update? https://twitter.com/mirandayaver/status/1471917964572168195?s=20
Andre Ethier, helping out where needed.
Another old friend has found employment on the Peninsula. https://twitter.com/LotteGiantsUSA/status/1468899047205478404?s=20
Yasiel has a job! https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1468801494405234694?s=20
FYI for Dave (and others), the Winnipeg was the vessel that Pablo Neruda chartered to bring Jewish refugees to Chile. https://twitter.com/Artenorte/status/1468651183963197440?s=20
FedEx is making a career change. https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/1468381061365342209?s=20
Congratulations to the Hodges family. A long overlooked mistake has been corrected. Now retire his number.
The Mutts should do the same. His 1969 achievement was unforgettable.
Totally agree.
Finally! Hodges, Minoso, O’Neil, Kaat, Oliva, Bud Fowler elected to Hall of Fame!
Can’t quarrel with any of them, but Maury still deserves to be in there.
Dick Allen too.
He won’t go in as a Dodger, though.
Owners again show they are tone-deaf: https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-players-1st-day-of-lockout-league-website-image-025955737.html
I can’t dispute their tone-deafness, but in the absence of a new agreement the owners cannot legally use the players’ images.
I don’t think that the players would mind, and the owners could figure out a way to do that, if they wanted to. I will leave it to the lawyers.
Interesting and somewhat cynical article from Forbes about Hodges’s chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdiunte/2021/12/04/is-electing-gil-hodges-to-the-hall-of-fame-in-the-museums-best-financial-interests/?sh=7e3a3cd2b600
Hopefully tomorrow the HOF will finally correct a huge error and admit Gil Hodges.
Hodges received three or fewer votes the last time from the committee responsible for that era. That was about seven years ago. There are 16 voters on the panel. Each is allowed a maximum of four votes. Twelve votes are needed to get elected. It will be tough sledding. I am rooting for Wills to be chosen. Below are the results from the last time. None of the 10 nominees received 12 votes. Here are vote totals as the Hall of Fame announced them:
Dick Allen 11
Tony Oliva 11
Jim Kaat 10
Maury Wills 9
Minnie Minoso 8
Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Bob Howsam, Bily Pierce and Luis Tiant all received 3 or fewer.
Hodges is the most deserving of the bunch, but I’m also partial to Maury – he single-handedly changed the game.
Very good obituary for Don Demeter at the New York Times.
George Gerdes wrote his own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIcDcu5J-RU