Author Archive: Phil Gurnee
Hoops, even for the loneliest number
Basketball celebrates it’s 125th anniversary this month and is as popular as ever. They say 300 Million Chinese play the sport, and the above photo shows that even in the poorest places, they can be found shooting hoops. It is not surprising to me that the sport has become a hit around the world. It …
Narrative busting day
With Kenley Jansen re-signing with the Dodgers for 5/80 today, two different narratives were busted. First Narrative – MLB players always sign for the most money. I had laid out reasons why it would be a bad idea for Kenley Jansen to sign with the Marlins even if the Marlins made the best offer. I …
Bradbury Building, Boston Camerata, Eggslut, and Aliens
We took in a Christmas show at the infamous Bradbury building today. It wasn’t your typical Christmas show. The Boston Camerata does this: Take a Christmas journey through Mediaeval France, Italy, England and Provence with “America’s foremost early music ensemble” (Le Monde, Paris). Their “jubilant and inspiring” (The Boston Globe) seasonal music program of festive …
Pondering left field
2017 LF is going to be interesting. From the Left Side: Toles – keeps showing skills, looks like he could be a promising leadoff hitter. Has the speed, showed good OBP skills, had some pop. His arm plays well in LF. I’d think he’d rank very high defensively over a full season in LF. We …
1958 – 58
For some reason, I was looking forward to turning 58 this year having been born in 1958. On Turkey Day it became official. All year I’ve thought of myself as 58 years old so turning 58 was just an after thought. The LAD were 58 years old this year. It is strange comfort to know …
Dozier and Dodger infield dingers
If the Dodgers do trade for Dozier, and re-sign Justin Turner they will have a good shot at hitting 100 home runs as an infield. The last Dodger infield to hit 100 home runs was in 2004. That was mostly due to Adrian Beltre who belted 48 home runs. Shawn Green hit 22 home runs …
Allen Craig / Justin Turner – My oh My
I always wondered what kind of contract Allen Craig would have gotten had he hit free agency after his three-year run from 2011 – 2013 as Justin Turner has done instead of signing that 5/31 deal in the spring of 2013. 5/80 maybe? I remembered Craig having a nice run for the Cardinals after coming …
110 IP gets you 3/48
By many accounts, Rich Hill is a great guy, great competitor, fun to watch pitch, and now very wealthy. Perseverance paid off for Rich Hill when he inked a 3/48 deal with the Dodgers today. For the time being, Hill slots into the number two behind Clayton Kershaw in the Dodger 2017 rotation. As noted earlier …
Hill/Turner/Jansen – what a bizzare trio
The LAD have three big free agents this season and all three of them are as unlikely as they come. At some point, all three of them had to think their major league careers were either over, never going to happen, or be satisfied with making a team every spring. By the end of this …
Who will stay, who will go
The hot stove is heating up and by the end of the week, it appears very likely that the Dodgers will be adding some new blood while saying good-bye to old friends, or never were friends. This is an exciting time for fans but a strange week for players as they wait to see where …
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 