Number eight was oh so sweet. There is no feeling in this world like beating the Yankees in the World Series. That probably comes from the fact that for oh so long, the Yankees owned the Dodgers in the fall classic. From the first time they met in 1941, something always seemed to happen that derailed the Dodgers hopes. Starting with Owens passed ball in 41. By the time 1955 rolled around, the Dodgers were 9-20 against the Yankees in World Series play. Of the Dodgers eight series wins, four have now come against New York.
Overall, the Dodgers are 4-8 against the Yankees in the World Series. Their other wins have come against the Twins, A’s, White Sox and Rays. They lost two to the Red Sox, one to Cleveland, one to Oakland, one to Baltimore and one to Houston. 8-14 in World Series play. Dodger fans right now are pretty amped up about this team. Back-to-back would ease a lot of angst over the last few seasons. They have dominated the West Division of the NL. Chances are, that will not change this year.
But the team is getting older. And that for some should be a concern. All of their big stars are 30 or older, the bench players are all over 30 also. Kike is 33, Barnes is 35, Taylor is 34 and Miggy is 36. Pages is the youngest position player at 24 and the only position player on the team under 30. The Dodgers are going to need an infusion of youth either by trade or by bringing up some of their prized talent, and they need to do it soon. Muncy has one year plus a team option for 10 million. He is 34. If he has another Muncy like 35 long balls and an OPS over .800, my guess is that his option will be picked up.
Smith will no doubt need to be given plenty of rest during the season. Is Barnes the back-up all year, or do we see Rushing at some point? Many here do not see Mookie as being the full time SS at all. Most want him to move back to RF or second base. Well, he isn’t going to right unless something drastic happens. That is Teo’s home now, at least for this year with Conforto in left. So, is Freeland close to being a major league ready SS? Lots of questions.
I expect the Dodgers will get some stiff competition for the division, but their depth is going to be a difference maker. Especially if their contenders suffer a loss to injury from any of their major stars. Just look how LA survived the loss of Betts and Muncy for an extended period of time. They lost Freeman for about two full weeks during the season. Their subs did the job. All five pitchers who were starters at the beginning of the year spent time on the IL. Only Yamamoto was active during the playoff run.
What can we expect as the Dodgers begin to defend their title? One would be a potent offense. I see nothing that would say otherwise. Adding a healthy Max Muncy, and Will Smith returning to form could be huge. Conforto is a better option than Heyward or Kiermaier. Hopefully his defense is more than adequate. I still have some reservations about the bench with no lefty available to PH unless all the RH hitters are already in the game. And has been discussed, the lack of a true center fielder. I do not think Kim or Edman fit the bill of pure centerfielders.
But the depth of this team should be more than able to plug holes and give AF the ability to pursue a trade if need be. Health is their main enemy. If any of the big three on offense go down, the team will have to find a way to cover that lost offense. The pitching is deep. Plenty of good arms will be available by June or July. I think they win the west easily. How healthy they are going into the playoffs will dictate how deep they go.
Nice job Bear. The fun is finally here. Dodgers may get stiff competition but the old saying “offense wins games, defense and pitching wins championships.” the strength of the Dodgers starting pitching and the depth along with a great bullpen, I feel good about the Dodgers. I believe with their young starters and front office the Dodgers will be in the hunt for a World Series Championship every year. Of course there will be years that we won’t get there but we will be in the hunt for at least the rest of this decade.
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I agree. But I don’t mind hat they went out and signed great players so they could win for a window of time. But I hope they start infusing the roster with homegrown talent.
I have always thought that bringing up a rookie every year was a sustainable model but it requires that you have good talent at the needed position at just the right time, which is too much to hope for. But with trades and occasional free agents hey should be able to have a good mix of young and old.
Gunnar Henderson is going to open the season on the IL.
Agree about the youth. Rushing & Freeland should add to the mix at some point this year and definitely next.
A lot of players getting released today including Ross Stripling, Mitch Haniger, Adam Ottavino, Luke Maile, and Brandon Drury. Tigers signed Manuel Margot who was released yesterday by the Brewers.
The missed opportunities are present in the AF era as well. Gavin Lux and Mitch White over Bo Bichette. JT Ginn over Shane McClanahan. Kody Hoese and Michael Busch over Gunnar Henderson. Kody Hoese over Anthony Volpe. Busch was taken one pick after Volpe. There is a whole slew of picks in the 2021 draft that the Dodgers missed on while taking Maddux Bruns. I know that Bichette, McClanahan, and Henderson were all on the LAD very short list. 2019 was the last year I had a source extremely familiar with the LAD draft and who they were targeting. Unfortunately my friend is no longer with us.
I am with those who want to see the youngsters move up to LAD and play. But they have to be talented enough to play on a perennial contender, and that is not easy to find. Which is why I agree with Patch when he says: “They look at their draft and player development as accumulating aggregate value. They can use that value to either perform at the MLB level or trade that value for positions of need.”
Unfortunately, outside of pitching and Will Smith, that draft value has not been there to play with LAD. Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, and Will Smith are the only AF era LAD draft picks to make an All Star team (or Amateur Free Agents signed by LAD).
The Dodgers starting 9 and starting rotation include: Free Agents (7), Trades (3), IFA (2), and Draft (2). Every one of the trades then signed long term extensions. All four bench players were trade acquisitions. The bullpen consists of Free Agents (4), Trade (1), Undrafted Free Agent (1), Draft (1), and Purchase (1).
Overall the 26 man is comprised of FA (11), Trades (8), Draft (3), IFA (2), UDFA (1), Purchase (1). Again three of those trades included long term extensions. I do not think it so cynical to say the biggest asset the Dodgers have is Guggenheim $$$.
The draft is nowhere near an exact science. Every team has their areas of expertise in analyzing amateur talent. The Dodgers know how to locate and develop pitching talent. I do not think the Dodgers’ strength is in finding elite position player talent in the draft, regardless as to where they draft. No team can be best at all phases in an organization. Where AF and his minions may miss in the amateur draft, they more than make up for in valuing and acquiring MLB talent via trade and FA, and in giving the players the best development, coaching, and analytical tools. AF rarely misses and very rarely overpays. They have the good, even though not elite, drafted players they can use in trades and the $$$ to pay for FA and extensions. It works for the Dodgers.
BTW, I promised Badger I would research and report on how each of the teams are made up by. There has been a lot of movement on the 26 man rosters, so I thought I would wait until it got closer to opening day to do my research.The rosters are very fluid right now.
https://twitter.com/DodgerInsider/status/1903900911111717261