NL West Talk

[dredinis21]

He performed gymnastics worthy of at least a silver medal in the Olympics to explain away the Dodgers woes while essentially ignoring the Giants.

Next...

Apparently the Cancer Formerly Known As Puig along with a full season of Seager, and a rotation that is being held together by adobe, paper clips, and bubble gum is going to offset the loss of an ace and keep the DBacks and Giants, who have both bettered their weaknesses significantly, from catching them. Also, bullpen is going to miraculously improve. Book it.

 

[LASports96]

I mean the writer kinda explained his reasoning for the Dodgers still being the best team. You can ignore them if you want but they are still there.

But yes we still need at least another starter. I would venture that's all but a given at minimum however.

 

[calsnowskier]

I mean the writer kinda explained his reasoning for the Dodgers still being the best team. You can ignore them if you want but they are still there.

But yes we still need at least another starter. I would venture that's all but a given at minimum however.

My MAIN complaint with the article was that it made all the excuses for the Dodgers, then had a single throw-away paragraph for the Giants. No mention of the freak injuries from '15 that SHOULD not be an issue in '16. No mention of Scrabbles issue with tipping pitches in '15. No mention of the 5 additional pitchers who could be ready to push for a 4/5 spot at some point this season. No mention of the fact that Cain's arm is basically brand new and he has mid-90's velocity again.

That's why I discard the article. It was intended to be read by Dodger fans/apologists.

 

[LASports96]

My MAIN complaint with the article was that it made all the excuses for the Dodgers, then had a single throw-away paragraph for the Giants. No mention of the freak injuries from '15 that SHOULD not be an issue in '16. No mention of Scrabbles issue with tipping pitches in '15. No mention of the 5 additional pitchers who could be ready to push for a 4/5 spot at some point this season. No mention of the fact that Cain's arm is basically brand new and he has mid-90's velocity again.

That's why I discard the article. It was intended to be read by Dodger fans/apologists.

Actually don't think that was the intention, it just seems you don't agree with it, which doesn't make it a "biased article" or whatever you want to claim.

All articles by the media are take for what it's worth, nothing is a given in baseball.

 

[dredinis21]

Actually don't think that was the intention, it just seems you don't agree with it, which doesn't make it a "biased article" or whatever you want to claim.

All articles by the media are take for what it's worth, nothing is a given in baseball.

I mean the writer kinda explained his reasoning for the Dodgers still being the best team. You can ignore them if you want but they are still there.

But yes we still need at least another starter. I would venture that's all but a given at minimum however.

His reasoning is not logical given the advances that other teams in the division made. The article also severely discounts Greinke's dominance and the potential problem the defection creates. Any team with an ace knows the power of having a stopper. The Dodgers leaned heavily on Kershaw and Greinke for much of their success. Taking 50% of that away doesn't just swing a couple games over the course of a season. Counting on Ryu, Anderson, and McCarthy to stay healthy as a way to offset the loss of Greinke is wishing for a blowjob from Adrianna Lima just because you walked past a Victoria's Secret store.

If he wants to make the argument that the gap between the Dodgers and Giants/DBacks has tightened significantly to where the NL West is a crapshoot, that is a bit more accurate...and unbiased.

 

[LASports96]

Other teams have plenty of question marks too... you're still overrating the DBacks cause their recent barrage of moves is fresh.

The guy above was claiming Cain is back to normal going forward... which is even more lol than anybody saying Ryu will come back and have an impact.

 

[calsnowskier]

Where did I say Cain was back to normal? Please quote that.

What is said is that his arm is almost brand new and he has velocity. That does not mean he will be able to use it. But to not mention this while listing every shred of hope that exists in the Dodger organization is a joke.

I am not saying his analysis of the Dodgers is wrong. There is a chance the breaks will go their way and a good number of their question marks will be answered in the affirmative. Every team has question marks and every team needs breaks to go their way, no matter the expectations (look at the Nats last year). I just ask, from a national article, to look at all teams with the same rose colored glasses. That article had had a definite blue-hue to it.

That is all I was saying.

I would not expect you to have a positive take away from something written by a Giants beat writer. Why should I have a positive take way from something written by a Dodger beat writer?

 

[LASports96]

You're right my Cain comment was a bit exaggerated... but obviously you got the point.

And again because you don't agree with an article doesn't mean it's biased.

That guy is certainly not a Dodgers beat writer. So?

 

[calsnowskier]

You're right my Cain comment was a bit exaggerated... but obviously you got the point.

And again because you don't agree with an article doesn't mean it's biased.

That guy is certainly not a Dodgers beat writer. So?

So you don't see a problem with an "unbiased" article writing about the NLWest to have an essay on the Dodgers and one measly paragraph about the Giants.

Gotcha.

 

[LASports96]

So you don't see a problem with an "unbiased" article writing about the NLWest to have an essay on the Dodgers and one measly paragraph about the Giants.

Gotcha.

I think you're overthinking this...

 

[OutlawImmortal]

My MAIN complaint with the article was that it made all the excuses for the Dodgers, then had a single throw-away paragraph for the Giants. No mention of the freak injuries from '15 that SHOULD not be an issue in '16. No mention of Scrabbles issue with tipping pitches in '15. No mention of the 5 additional pitchers who could be ready to push for a 4/5 spot at some point this season. No mention of the fact that Cain's arm is basically brand new and he has mid-90's velocity again.

That's why I discard the article. It was intended to be read by Dodger fans/apologists.

The Dodgers had injuries too, bud.

 

[calsnowskier]

The Dodgers had injuries too, bud.

And that is fine. Mention those. They are valid.

But again, how can you consider an article ABOUT THE NL WEST to be legit if it basically ignores one of the powers of the division?

If the article was intended to be just about the Dodgers, that is one thing. But it wasn't. It was supposed to be about the division. ESPN instead made it an LA circle jerk to pander to a large fan base. Nothing new. Nothing surprising.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

And that is fine. Mention those. They are valid.

But again, how can you consider an article ABOUT THE NL WEST to be legit if it basically ignores one of the powers of the division?

If the article was intended to be just about the Dodgers, that is one thing. But it wasn't. It was supposed to be about the division. ESPN instead made it an LA circle jerk to pander to a large fan base. Nothing new. Nothing surprising.

It basically said what we've been saying, any of the 3 top teams can win it this year. They put the Dodgers at 1A simply because the Dodgers don't project to be bad at any position and we still have Kershaw who's probably the most consistent pitcher in the league, even when some were questioning whether he still had it in the first few months of the season, he came back and finished the year with the first 300-strikeout season since Randy Johnson. Would you put money on Greinke having another 1.66 ERA season? It could happen, but it's unlikely.

For all the talk about the Dodgers pen, they were still among the best in the league in K/BB% with a bunch of nobodies.

 

[GeekSportsFan]

It basically said what we've been saying, any of the 3 top teams can win it this year. They put the Dodgers at 1A simply because the Dodgers don't project to be bad at any position and we still have Kershaw who's probably the most consistent pitcher in the league, even when some were questioning whether he still had it in the first few months of the season, he came back and finished the year with the first 300-strikeout season since Randy Johnson. Would you put money on Greinke having another 1.66 ERA season? It could happen, but it's unlikely.

For all the talk about the Dodgers pen, they were still among the best in the league in K/BB% with a bunch of nobodies.

If they can't find someone to at least partially fill the hole by the loss of Greinke, the Dodgers won't even make the playoffs. If anything, they will need to get another power bat to make up for the loss of Greinke. Unless Puig can make a huge turn around, the Dodgers will disappoint the LA fan base this coming season.

 

[dredinis21]

It basically said what we've been saying, any of the 3 top teams can win it this year. They put the Dodgers at 1A simply because the Dodgers don't project to be bad at any position and we still have Kershaw who's probably the most consistent pitcher in the league, even when some were questioning whether he still had it in the first few months of the season, he came back and finished the year with the first 300-strikeout season since Randy Johnson. Would you put money on Greinke having another 1.66 ERA season? It could happen, but it's unlikely.

For all the talk about the Dodgers pen, they were still among the best in the league in K/BB% with a bunch of nobodies.

Are you saying that you like your pen the way it is? I as a Giants fan sure hope so.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Are you saying that you like your pen the way it is? I as a Giants fan sure hope so.

Never said that, just think people should get their facts straight when trying to judge a team. Irrational hatred will do that to people though.

Not counting Kershaw and Greinke, a rotation that consisted of Anderson, Bolsinger and Frias most of the year finished 2 games over .500. Considering that fact that Anderson was intended to be the #5 starter, that's not all that bad.

 

[Bolts]

Having Ryu healthy would very much improve the Dodgers rotation. That said, between him and Anderson you could get over 300 strong innings or around 200 innings because of injuries. They need another starter imo. The offense should be better with an upgrade at SS and Joc not swinging and missing as much, they'll need Puig to stay healthy. The BP could use an upgrade, not sure what's out there for them to get but I don't think it's good enough right now especially with the question marks in the rotation.
Having the Dodgers as the projected best team in the NLW isn't a problem because I could see it happening, but the division will be close between the top 3.

 

[calsnowskier]

Having Ryu healthy would very much improve the Dodgers rotation. That said, between him and Anderson you could get over 300 strong innings or around 200 innings because of injuries. They need another starter imo. The offense should be better with an upgrade at SS and Joc not swinging and missing as much, they'll need Puig to stay healthy. The BP could use an upgrade, not sure what's out there for them to get but I don't think it's good enough right now especially with the question marks in the rotation.
Having the Dodgers as the projected best team in the NLW isn't a problem because I could see it happening, but the division will be close between the top 3.

Yup.

I am OK with picking the dogs as the champs. I dont agree with it, but any of the three teams getting picked to win can be defended.

The DBacks and Giants just have fewer question marks than the Dodgers. You really need to assume that MORE will fall right for the dogs to win than you need for either the Giants or DBacks to win, though.

 

[LASports96]

And that is fine. Mention those. They are valid.

But again, how can you consider an article ABOUT THE NL WEST to be legit if it basically ignores one of the powers of the division?

If the article was intended to be just about the Dodgers, that is one thing. But it wasn't. It was supposed to be about the division. ESPN instead made it an LA circle jerk to pander to a large fan base. Nothing new. Nothing surprising.

lol, bro, come on, go through all his articles on the divisions, some teams got more words than others, it is what it is. Quit complaining about an irrelevant article.

 

[LASports96]

Are you saying that you like your pen the way it is? I as a Giants fan sure hope so.

I think we might make an addition to the bullpen via trade, but if it stays what it is right now, I'd be ok with it.

Jansen-Hatcher-Avilan-Howell-Baez-Garcia isn't too bad