Author Archive: Phil Gurnee
Matt Beaty belongs here
Every Dodger position rookie is making their mark this year and Matt Beaty is no exception. I haven’t looked at the statcast data, but it seems every time he makes contact it is hard contact. Matt was doing everything right, and yet because of the Rich Hill injury, he was sent down last Wednesday. He …
Alex Verdugo lights up Chavez Ravine
With the injury to AJ Pollock, Alex Verdugo has planted himself in centerfield and in the hearts of Dodger fans. I don’t want to talk for all Dodger fans but for this fan, his spirit and play has supplanted the fun that Yasiel Puig used to deliver. This comes as a shock to me for …
The ridiculousness of Will Smith
Will Smith entered the 2019 season stuck between the present in Austin Barnes and the future in Keibert Ruiz. The Dodgers had signed Russell Martin to back up Austin Barnes which left Will Smith in AAA. The good news for Will Smith is that the Dodgers didn’t trade for Realmuto or trade for any other …
Walker Buehler is on the board
At the beginning of the year, I thought Walker Buehler would be in the Cy Young conversation but as April turned to May that thought was long gone from my memory. On June 21st, Walker reminded me why I had such lofty thought for him when he pitched a complete game with sixteen strikeouts. I …
Is Madbum really a monster?
Max Muncy hit a home run off of Madison Bumgarner and watched it soar toward the Bay and Madison Bumgarner reacted predictably and started yelling at Max. Max yelled back and we had one of the great retorts in Pitcher / Hitter history. Muncy: “Bumgarner said ‘don’t watch the ball, run’, and I just told …
Corey Seager isn’t the shiny new SS anymore
Hard to believe but Corey Seager is already twenty-five years old and while Dodger fans wait for the 22/23 Seager to show up, the team down south in San Diego has the shiny new shortstop who has already been ordained the best young Shortstop in California. We won’t get to see Fernando Tatis Jr. this …
Justin Turner is just about ready
If you have access to Spectrum or are an out of town Dodger fan you have heard Joe Davis say over and over that Justin Turner doesn’t hit in April. The stats don’t lie as Turner has only three home runs in 480 plate appearances in April. Turner hits more in May but his bat …
Alex Verdugo is the poster child for “Let the kids play”
MLB has created an ad campaign around “Let the kids play” and no one epitomizes that more on the Dodgers than Alex Verdugo. You might have thought that with Yasiel Puig gone the Dodgers would no longer have a child-man playing in the outfield but the brash massive gold chain wearing center fielder Alex Verdugo …
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 