Congrats Druff. Finally an asterisk free title (for now).
Now who wants to go back and dig up all the posts earlier this season where Druff claimed the Dodgers weren’t actually trying to win this season and instead reset their luxury tax bill?
Congrats Druff. Finally an asterisk free title (for now).
Now who wants to go back and dig up all the posts earlier this season where Druff claimed the Dodgers weren’t actually trying to win this season and instead reset their luxury tax bill?
Originally Posted by Sheesfaced
That was last season. Time flies on PFA, I guess.
They were definitely trying to reset it last year, in preparation of spending the big money in 2024 on.... Shohei Ohtani!
That's what I had been saying throughout 2023.
This year they definitely weren't being frugal, between acquiring Ohtani (yes, I know it was deferred), Teoscar Hernandez, Yoshi Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow.
Speaking of salary... the Dodgers really slummed it with the bullpen... and it worked out!
Ryan Brasier, at $4.5m was the highest bullpen salary at the Dodgers World Series. Michael Kopech, making a $3m salary (prorated, since he was acquired midyear) was second highest in the pen. Next was Daniel Hudson at $2m. Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia were making $1m each. Everyone else was making near the minimum of $740-770k, and some of that was prorated because they had been in the minors some of the year.
The team did waste $8m on Joe Kelly (who was terrible, wasn't in the postseason), and Evan Phillips was making $4m before being left off the World Series roster.
But yeah... they did a good job putting together an effective bullpen of nobodies.
Who do the Dodgers have to decide to bring back or let go?
Not many. Most of the team is under contract already.
Free agents will be Tesocar Hernandez (I'm guessing they bring him back), Blake Treinen (ditto), Joe Kelly (nope), Walker Buehler (maybe), Jack Flaherty (maybe), Kevin Kiermaier (probably not).
Thank God no more Kenley Jansen
It’s bittersweet but happy to see my boy Freddie Freeman get WS MVP.
Please take care of my boy Max Fried next year. Although given he’s going from a team that somehow managed to get Chris Sale thru an entire reg season (but not the postseason!) to a team with Mark Prior and (well Sanimar has already said enough there) I have my doubts; especially since Fried is already a bit fragile.
But I’ve been saying for years now Fried is destined to be a Dodger. He’s a SoCal kid and although he may ultimately sign elsewhere the one thing I know for sure is it isn’t going to be with the Braves.
Any Dodgers fans looking to order gear at Fanatics, use this code: ALUMLTGUCAJ
It's 30% off.
Not my code (wish it was), but I found it online, and it works. Beats their bad public promo right now to save a whopping $6 on shipping.
This will work on anything from the site, not just Dodgers gear.
The last thing the Dodgers need is another pitcher who gets hurt before the year is over. They already have that in Glasnow and Yamamoto. At least Yamamoto recovered in time.
Oh, and Sanlmar.... Kershaw wants to come back. At least you can still laugh at that.
It’s not WHO they buy or draft that is the issue… it’s their PROCESS.
Hit some data like Fangraphs and you will find the Dodgers lead the league in fastball pitch type and velocity. Pitching improvement in their mind is more and harder. Dial your Tampa Bay Rays mid tier acquisition to 11 with weighted balls and video.
This year the Dodgers bankroll outlasted their process. Just before the playoffs Fraudman said he will review their obvious pitching issue. I know that not one person in the organization is going to be let go and likely their philosophy will remain intact with only token changes.
I believe this image is from the Fraudman pitching press conference at the end of season. What a luckbox.
No team has ever accomplished less with more.
You actually think they are gonna give Kershaw a ring?
Sanlmar, did you notice Friedman's size when he stood next to others during the ceremony last night? Very small guy. I first noticed this when a Facebook friend happened to spot Friedman at a Little League game, and took a picture with him. This dude was not big at all, yet looked huge compared to Friedman.
But today Friedman stands tall among MLB executives. Everything he did somehow worked this year, even though there were lots of questionable decisions. He does get credit for some nice moves, such as the Teoscar Hernandez signing and Tommy Edman trade. The Edman trade was especially impressive because the Dodgers gave up almost nothing, and Edman had a lot of potential upside -- both now and in the future.
Corbin Burnes is already putting out signs that he wants to come to LA. Juan Soto will also be interested. Both will be expensive, especially Soto.
At one point, it does become an embarrassment of riches. I don't mind the Dodgers, as a major market team, spending money to get top players. I had to suffer through the frugal McCourt years of the 2000s, after all. But at some point it becomes ridiculous. The one good thing about the injuries this year is that they allowed the Dodgers to counter the "you bought this championship" allegation. Indeed, they won a World Series with three starting pitchers and a gaggle of no-name relievers.
Do you think Roberts would've been fired if the Dodgers got bounced from the NLDS by San Diego? They were one game away from that happening. Imagine how different the 2024 narrative would have been if that occurred. Instead, Roberts is getting plaudits for an expertly managed series. I will say that this was the first postseason I've watched where he didn't make an egregious mistake, and yes, I'll say he overall managed well this time.
Fanatics really is a racket.
They're charging $40 for a shirt and $75-$85 for a hoodie.
Their wonderful promo right now is "free shipping", which saves you a whopping $5 on the order.
People are still flooding into the side to purchase this stuff. I promised Ben that I would buy him a hoodie, so I was one of those suckers. I got one for myself, too. At least they have "XL Tall" sizes, so that's good. I'm 6'2", but I have the back of a 6'5" guy, so shirt/sweatshirt/jacket sizes can be a challenge for me.
Fortunately I found that obscure 30% off code somewhere online, so that brought the insane prices down a bit. I also found some weird Amex promo giving me $20 off Fanatics, but laughably they don't give me the credit until spring 2025. Zero chance I will remember by then. Hopefully they don't stiff me.
After shipping & tax, it was $125 total for a regular hoodie and a "tall hoodie", maybe $105 if I get my 20 dolla back next year. It would've been $171 without that code I found. Also, I won't get it for 2-3 weeks.
Trump should use this as proof of inflation under Biden.
I always wait a few months after a title and get that junk for 80% off.
Well, we got there on Skenes. was a fun sweat.
23/30 1st place votes. Once he was announced as a finalist for cy young i felt it was over, but the nerds loved Merrill.
This was placed in May. Had some others
I frittered some money away on Merrill at the height of the rumors Skenes would get shut down. Skenes’ arm must be something else cause I’m sure he never showed any sign of wear else the Pirates woulda iced him. Amazing
He’s a unicorn in the 2020’s and was appreciated as such by a troubled sport.
Who knows what crazy rules the MLB will come up with in the years to come.
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