2020/21 Off-Season Thread

[Bluebeard]

Bauer's a Dodger

[USCFOOTBALL]

Great signing

[sonofdad]

Great signing

Love it! All about winning and perfecting his craft and he just signed with the best organization in baseball for a Masters Class in the Science of Pitching.

I'll take the intensity and will to win and desire to play for his home team - guarantee you for all the comments about his politics, there isn't anyone in that clubhouse who isn't jacked to have him on the team. Rumor has it Buehler is a good friend of his already, and the leadership on this team can easily handle big personalities.

Promise you that the fans and players that are least happy about this signing are a couple hours south.

[bkt42]

Bauer was the single free-agent that gives us the best chance at a repeat.....period.

Don't need him by any stretch of the imagination, but man we are absolutely loaded.

May, Gonsolin and even Urias now can be used in the pen if need be.

Here is hoping we still have intentions to get a RH bat though, because one could argue we needed one when we had JT and Hernandez in the fold, and now they are both gone. (JT still on the radar??)

Would not be surprised to see Friedman make a trade or two to unload some payroll (Kelly, Price maybe) as well as try and get a RH bat.....

[WhiteShadow42]

Bauer was the single free-agent that gives us the best chance at a repeat.....period.

Don't need him by any stretch of the imagination, but man we are absolutely loaded.

May, Gonsolin and even Urias now can be used in the pen if need be.

Here is hoping we still have intentions to get a RH bat though, because one could argue we needed one when we had JT and Hernandez in the fold, and now they are both gone. (JT still on the radar??)

Would not be surprised to see Friedman make a trade or two to unload some payroll (Kelly, Price maybe) as well as try and get a RH bat.....

Imagine May as our closer.

[USCFOOTBALL]

Imagine May as our closer.

Id go with Urias

[rasajr23]

30 million over the Luxury Tax. Who is on the trading block?

[KobeOwnSU]

30 million over the Luxury Tax. Who is on the trading block?

Maybe they’re just gonna pay it? They are still the favorites for JT and were rumored to be in on Ozuna before he signed with Atlanta.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big Moves03]

Just in case anyone forgot, we have the best front office in all of baseball and are in the running for the best front office in all of sports. What this front office has done and continues to do is nothing short of amazing.

[Big Moves03]

Imagine May as our closer.

We're so ridiculously loaded it's just crazy

[lamar2006]

Turn Urias into our Josh Hader. We know he can dominate when it matters the most. But either May or Gonsolin are going to get traded. Don't forget we have Gray coming up sometime this year. We are just loaded with starting pitchers. our 6-8 starters would probably start for 28 other teams. I just hope Bauer doesn't clash with Betts, Price that can kill our club chemistry. We may need Turner to keep the team in order. But love how everything the Madres did this offseason was undone by 1 move. Gotta love that. Can't wait to face the Madres in the NLCS and the Yankees in the WS. If everyone stays healthy I like our chances of repeating.

[sonofdad]

Turn Urias into our Josh Hader. We know he can dominate when it matters the most. But either May or Gonsolin are going to get traded. Don't forget we have Gray coming up sometime this year. We are just loaded with starting pitchers. our 6-8 starters would probably start for 28 other teams. I just hope Bauer doesn't clash with Betts, Price that can kill our club chemistry. We may need Turner to keep the team in order. But love how everything the Madres did this offseason was undone by 1 move. Gotta love that. Can't wait to face the Madres in the NLCS and the Yankees in the WS. If everyone stays healthy I like our chances of repeating.

I like the options we have, and I think we are going to need all of those arms throughout the season. As fans, we have been spoiled with so much depth over the last 8-10 years, and have absorbed injuries better than any team in baseball. I wonder how many teams actually have started and finished the season with the starting 5 intact, or even their starting 3 or 4 in recent years. It's telling that you rarely hear about the Dodgers' injury woes because we just roll the next man up and have seen little impact.

I kind of like May as a late inning option. The guy has so much energy on the mound - it seems like a good fit for shorter, all-out stints vs. longer starting bits. My biggest concern with him is controlling that energy. It was so much fun watching Urias completely shut down the back end of games during the postseason though too, with multiple innings. The guy was locked in, and the moment was not too big for him.

As far as clubhouse chemistry - every one is an individual with their own perspectives on life. Adults with their own thoughts, their own politics, and personalities. A well run clubhouse shouldn't strive to shut down diversity and dialogue, but to embrace it. MLB represents so many different races, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, it's truly an international sport. For all of the criticisms that Dave Roberts receives about his tactical skills during the game, he is one of the best clubhouse leaders in the game. It is amazing what a winning culture with strong leadership can do to get everyone pulling on the same side on the rope.

[GibbyIsMyHero]

I’m not a fan of the Bauer signing and, no, it’s not about his “politics”, though there certainly is an element of that which has something to do with it.

Let’s first talk merit and then I’ll bring it back around full circle.

Trevor Bauer has pitched 7 full MLB seasons. I’m counting 2020 as a full season in this tally because it was his best year and I know the pro-Bauer crowd will want to lean on that. I will project his 2020 numbers to reflect that, even though we know he was already slowing down when the regular season ended.

* () denotes ranking amongst active leaders with a minimum of 1000 innings pitched. Generally, no one on these list has <7 years of MLB experience.

Career ERA: 3.90 (31st)
Career FIP: 3.85 (28th)
Career ERA+: 113 (23rd)
Career WHIP: 1.265 (32nd)
Number of Seasons < 4.0 ERA: 2
Number of Seasons < 4.0 FIP: 4 (3.99 in 2016 and 3.88 in 2017)
Number of seasons > 200 IP: 2 (219IP projected for 2020)

Look, this FO is smarter than me and I can generally see the good in what they’ve done. There are only two things I like about this deal: (1) it’s short, and (2) it’s showing that, despite some strange criticisms otherwise, this FO is willing to spend.

Maybe the FO saw something last year that gave them confidence that he’s figured things out. Time will tell and hopefully it proves me wrong. All I can say is, if you guys think we’re getting Trever Bauer v1.73 ERA, you’re likely in for a major disappointment.

The season numbers generally point to the same trend; Trevor Bauer has had two good years as an MLB pitcher, and one of those years was less than 1/3 of a season where there are some questions as to whether those numbers were aided by a banned substance. I won’t hash out all the details. You can, instead, watch the video and see what you get out of it, but Bauer seems to be pretty damn open about the fact that he’s cheating to get the numbers he’s getting.

Watch this video - https://youtu.be/-8zgvK1UAH4

The video compiles Trevor Bauer’s own words and uses their specificity about what he himself might be doing to corroborate the reasons for spikes in his own performance. It also chronicles his journey from the guy that called out cheaters, to the guy who seems to be openly cheating under the guise that he’s trying to prove a point. After you watch the video, do you have confidence that Trevor Bauer came by his 2020 on the up and up and can realistically be an ace without aid moving forward?

Having said that, based on merit alone, what gives you confidence that Bauer will earn his $34M a year AAV? I mean, looking at the career numbers, is this guy even a frontline pitcher in our rotation without the use of an aid to get his spin rate up?

To bring it back full circle; one thing that Trevor Bauer has shown consistently is public immaturity. In fact, I only suspect Bauer a cheater because of his blatant hints and references own immaturity issues and **** posting on Twitter.

Trying to chalk up my lack of wanting Bauer to his “politics” seems to be a lazy way of suggesting I don’t want him because he’s a Trump supporter. Let me be clear, I am not a Trump supporter, but I have friends and family that are. I don’t give a **** who he votes for at the ballot box.

What I do care about is that he’s a real ******* and a legitimate megalomaniac. The article below hardly even touches on the extent to which this is true. There are plenty of examples.

One such example the writer uses is when Molly Knight, who has spent so much time with this team, tweeted during the 2017 WS that CK deserves a championship while praising him as the hardest working pitcher in baseball (and, yes, he’s earned that reputation). The fact that Bauer - as a guy who had literally done nothing up to that point in his career and had no business being involved in the conversation - replied by essentially by telling her to prove it is a microcosm which speaks volumes to these issues.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadspi...1845368579/amp

If you put it all together, IMO, it looks like we paid a lot of money for a headache that isn’t likely to duplicate its success.

I hope he performs. Moreover, I hope he cleans up his act off the field. He’s got too big of a voice to be such a bully and an ******* and he’s simply not good enough to warrant that level of distraction.

[sonofdad]

I’m not a fan of the Bauer signing and, no, it’s not about his “politics”, though there certainly is an element of that which has something to do with it.

Let’s first talk merit and then I’ll bring it back around full circle.

Trevor Bauer has pitched 7 full MLB seasons. I’m counting 2020 as a full season in this tally because it was his best year and I know the pro-Bauer crowd will want to lean on that. I will project his 2020 numbers to reflect that, even though we know he was already slowing down when the regular season ended.

* () denotes ranking amongst active leaders with a minimum of 1000 innings pitched. Generally, no one on these list has <7 years of MLB experience.

Career ERA: 3.90 (31st)
Career FIP: 3.85 (28th)
Career ERA+: 113 (23rd)
Career WHIP: 1.265 (32nd)
Number of Seasons < 4.0 ERA: 2
Number of Seasons < 4.0 FIP: 4 (3.99 in 2016 and 3.88 in 2017)
Number of seasons > 200 IP: 2 (219IP projected for 2020)

Look, this FO is smarter than me and I can generally see the good in what they’ve done. There are only two things I like about this deal: (1) it’s short, and (2) it’s showing that, despite some strange criticisms otherwise, this FO is willing to spend.

Maybe the FO saw something last year that gave them confidence that he’s figured things out. Time will tell and hopefully it proves me wrong. All I can say is, if you guys think we’re getting Trever Bauer v1.73 ERA, you’re likely in for a major disappointment.

The season numbers generally point to the same trend; Trevor Bauer has had two good years as an MLB pitcher, and one of those years was less than 1/3 of a season where there are some questions as to whether those numbers were aided by a banned substance. I won’t hash out all the details. You can, instead, watch the video and see what you get out of it, but Bauer seems to be pretty damn open about the fact that he’s cheating to get the numbers he’s getting.

Watch this video - https://youtu.be/-8zgvK1UAH4

The video compiles Trevor Bauer’s own words and uses their specificity about what he himself might be doing to corroborate the reasons for spikes in his own performance. It also chronicles his journey from the guy that called out cheaters, to the guy who seems to be openly cheating under the guise that he’s trying to prove a point. After you watch the video, do you have confidence that Trevor Bauer came by his 2020 on the up and up and can realistically be an ace without aid moving forward?

Having said that, based on merit alone, what gives you confidence that Bauer will earn his $34M a year AAV? I mean, looking at the career numbers, is this guy even a frontline pitcher in our rotation without the use of an aid to get his spin rate up?

To bring it back full circle; one thing that Trevor Bauer has shown consistently is public immaturity. In fact, I only suspect Bauer a cheater because of his blatant hints and references own immaturity issues and **** posting on Twitter.

Trying to chalk up my lack of wanting Bauer to his “politics” seems to be a lazy way of suggesting I don’t want him because he’s a Trump supporter. Let me be clear, I am not a Trump supporter, but I have friends and family that are. I don’t give a **** who he votes for at the ballot box.

What I do care about is that he’s a real ******* and a legitimate megalomaniac. The article below hardly even touches on the extent to which this is true. There are plenty of examples.

One such example the writer uses is when Molly Knight, who has spent so much time with this team, tweeted during the 2017 WS that CK deserves a championship while praising him as the hardest working pitcher in baseball (and, yes, he’s earned that reputation). The fact that Bauer - as a guy who had literally done nothing up to that point in his career and had no business being involved in the conversation - replied by essentially by telling her to prove it is a microcosm which speaks volumes to these issues.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadspi...1845368579/amp

If you put it all together, IMO, it looks like we paid a lot of money for a headache that isn’t likely to duplicate its success.

I hope he performs. Moreover, I hope he cleans up his act off the field. He’s got too big of a voice to be such a bully and an ******* and he’s simply not good enough to warrant that level of distraction.

This deal had nothing to do with looking for a value option at pitcher and the AAV meant little to the front office. They added a top tier arm to a team that is going to go deep into the playoffs. Short term deal, with no impact on the team's ability to manage future contracts. They have the means to do it - good for them for taking the chance.

If you're the Mets, this deal sucks but the Dodgers aren't the Mets. We were not a sub 500 team fighting to make the playoffs with holes everywhere. We were the best team in baseball last year, and are looking like we are contending for a repeat in 2021. I would also say we were missing a few pieces from our starters in the postseason last year. We essentially had kershaw and Buehler and whomever else we could piece together to make a start. Price coming back, adding Bauer, I like our chances much better than a year ago even.

You don't like the guy. That's fine. If you want to argue that he doesn't make this rotation better, I would disagree. I specifically think he has the makeup to be the postseason pitcher we need in our rotation. As much as I love Kershaw and what he has meant to the Dodgers, he's been a freakish regular season arm, and pedestrian in the postseason.

Hopefully the grown men in the clubhouse won't feel too bullied or threatened by his presence. personally, I think they'll manage just fine.

[GibbyIsMyHero]

This deal had nothing to do with looking for a value option at pitcher and the AAV meant little to the front office. They added a top tier arm to a team that is going to go deep into the playoffs. Short term deal, with no impact on the team's ability to manage future contracts. They have the means to do it - good for them for taking the chance.

If you're the Mets, this deal sucks but the Dodgers aren't the Mets. We were not a sub 500 team fighting to make the playoffs with holes everywhere. We were the best team in baseball last year, and are looking like we are contending for a repeat in 2021. I would also say we were missing a few pieces from our starters in the postseason last year. We essentially had kershaw and Buehler and whomever else we could piece together to make a start. Price coming back, adding Bauer, I like our chances much better than a year ago even.

You don't like the guy. That's fine. If you want to argue that he doesn't make this rotation better, I would disagree. I specifically think he has the makeup to be the postseason pitcher we need in our rotation. As much as I love Kershaw and what he has meant to the Dodgers, he's been a freakish regular season arm, and pedestrian in the postseason.

Hopefully the grown men in the clubhouse won't feel too bullied or threatened by his presence. personally, I think they'll manage just fine.

I don’t think you read anything that I wrote. I didn’t argue that we or the FO should be concerned with his AAV.

Trevor Bauer, without aid, is not a top tier pitcher. He never has been... it also happens to be that he’s not worth the money or the headache. I hope he proves me wrong in all aspects, but I doubt it.