During spring training 2012, Matt Kemp struggled… badly. He went 17 for 65 (.262) in 22 spring training games with only 2 home runs and 13 RBIs. But from opening day on April 5, 2012 through April 30, 2012, Matt Kemp was the best hitter in all of baseball. His numbers were alien-like, with Matt […]
(Read More)Archive for April, 2013
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Mark Ellis – The glue that holds the Dodgers together
April 23rd, 2013 at 6:11 am 
by Ron Cervenka In the year plus that Mark Ellis has been with the Dodgers, he has been referred to as many things – all of which are good. He has been called the consummate professional, a professional hitter, a solid defender, the perfect number two hitter and my personal favorite, the glue that holds the team together. Although […]
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Are Mattingly’s days as Dodger manager numbered?
April 22nd, 2013 at 6:40 am by Ron Cervenka It’s a familiar tune for Dodger fans – “Fire Jim Tracy!” “Fire Grady Little!” “Fire Joe Torre!”; and the latest version, “Fire Don Mattingly!” (or Mark McGwire or Rick Honeycutt or Chuck Crim). Is it fair? Not really. After all, these are some brilliant baseball minds we’re talking about here. But whether it’s fair or not, somebody […]
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Are the Dodgers playoff hopes in jeopardy only 17 games into the new season?
April 21st, 2013 at 9:26 am by Ron Cervenka Who would have ever thought that a team that broke spring training camp with eight MLB-experienced starting pitchers on its 40-man roster would be calling upon that eighth guy only 17 games into the new season? Well they just did. To say that the announcement that Dodger right-hander Chad Billingsley was being placed on the […]
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When is it officially no longer ‘Still early?’
April 21st, 2013 at 6:06 am by Ron Cervenka “It’s still early.” There isn’t a baseball phrase in the English language that annoys me more. Don’t believe me? Just ask anyone who knows me, but be prepared to receive a belly laugh from them. Everyone knows that I hate this phrase… I mean I really hate it. Please indulge me for a minute. When was […]
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Great expectations may be a tepid realization – This team isn’t that good
April 20th, 2013 at 6:01 am by Evan Bladh I write this post hoping I’m wrong. I can’t think of a time that I wanted to be more wrong. I entered 2013 with an extremely positive outlook on the season. The new ownership group came in and spent record amounts of money on player payroll. They brought Sandy Koufax back. They renovated the clubhouse […]
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A Thousand Comedians
April 19th, 2013 at 1:07 pm by Ron Cervenka In spite of his team’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position, Dodger manager Don Mattingly has maintained his sense of humor through it all. Before last Friday night’s game at Dodger Stadium, Mattingly was asked (jokingly, I assume) “When you go to Baltimore and you need a DH are you going to hit […]
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Here we go again – Interleague play
April 19th, 2013 at 6:00 am by Ron Cervenka As a lifelong old school Dodger fan I am, of course, a lifelong old school National League guy. As such, I do not like the designated hitter rule nor do I like interleague play – it’s as simple as that. And while valid arguments can be made both for and against these hot topics, there is […]
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Hanley Ramirez – The Right Medicine
April 18th, 2013 at 7:38 am by Ron Cervenka Last year two very significant events happened that would end up determining the fate of the 2012 Dodgers – the first something good, very good in fact; the second not so much. After starting of the 2012 season at an MVP pace, Matt Kemp injured his hamstring and landed on the disabled list, as did […]
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Down on the Farm – A power hitting Dodger prospect not named Puig
April 18th, 2013 at 7:00 am by Ron Cervenka Living relatively close to Rancho Cucamonga (well, within an hour and a half drive, that is), I attend quite a few Quakes games each season. During the 2012 season, I attended maybe 15 or 20 Quakes games and closely followed several players. One such player was 20-year-old top Dodger outfield prospect Joc Pederson from Palo Alto, California. […]
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