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Page 4 December 14, 2017
Dodgers Preparing for Another Successful Season After Near Title
By Adam Serrao
It may be difficult for fans of the Los Angeles
Dodgers to even think about baseball once
again after the team’s heartbreaking defeat
in last season’s World Series. After making it
to the very last game that they possibly could
have played, the Dodgers once again came
up short of their goal of attaining the team’s
first championship since 1988. Despite their
shortcomings, Dodgers president of baseball
operations Andrew Friedman and general
manager Farhan Zaidi have already begun to
discuss moves for the 2018 season and remain
optimistic about their team’s chances. In fact,
the Baseball Winter Meetings took place this
week and by the time this article comes out,
the Dodgers may very well have made a deal
or two. Though it may indeed be difficult to
think forward to next October, what the Dodgers
do in this offseason may just be what gets the
team over their horrific postseason nightmares
from seasons past.
“We’re excited and encouraged that a lot of
this group is going to be back and we’re going
to look for every way to make it better,” Zaidi
explained while addressing his team’s chances
next season. “It was exhilarating to get to the
World Series, to see our fans respond to it. In
the last few years we’ve taken steps each year
to get to the ultimate goal. And our goal is a
year from now, we’ll be able to say that was
another step for us.”
But what can the Dodgers do to take that
next step? The team already finished with the
best record in the entire league and made
history at various points throughout the regular
season for their prolific play. Yet, still, no
World Series. The biggest stars on the team
like Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen--who
had been counted on all season long to get
the best players in all of baseball out--simply
failed to do so. So how do you make a team
that was already considered to be the best in
baseball, yet failed under the pressure of the
postseason, even better?
Well, despite being in the running for twoway
Japanese star Shohei Ohtani since August,
the team recently lost out on that bidding
war to the Los Angeles Angels. Giancarlo
Stanton remained a longshot trade option for
the Dodgers before he also signed elsewhere
with the New York Yankees. That left L.A.
with the offseason task of filling needs in the
bullpen, possibly at second base, certainly at
starting pitching and definitely in the starting
lineup, all while having already missed out on
this offseason’s two hottest commodities. So,
where else could the team look to get better?
Brandon Morrow was a gem for the
Dodgers last year, specifically in the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Morrow played
so well that he earned a role as a closer and
a contract that matches. Sure enough, he
signed with the Cubs last weekend. Logan
Forsythe didn’t necessarily set the world on
fire in his first year in Dodger blue and can be
seen as one weakness in an otherwise healthy
Dodgers lineup. Bringing back Chase Utley
to platoon at second could be an option, but
his intangibles certainly outweigh his playing
abilities at this point in his career. Kershaw,
Rich Hill and Alex Wood will be back at
the top of the rotation for L.A., but a clear
number two starter who may or may not be
named Yu Darvish could be in the team’s
sights. Andrew Toles could join Alex Verdugo
as possible offensive additions to the lineup,
but fans would have likely much rather seen
a big-name bat like Stanton step to the plate
in between Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger.
As far as other free agent targets go for the
Dodgers who are not named Ohtani, Stanton
or Darvish, look for the team to possibly make
a strong push for Lorenzo Cain. Cain would
provide the club with a great right-handed
hitting bat who could hit pitchers who throw
either right or left. He also won a World Series
with the Kansas City Royals and is almost as
reliable as they come in the outfield. As far as
pitching goes, don’t be surprised to see Los
Angeles in on the Jake Arrieta hype. Dodger
fans have almost certainly grown at least an
acute dissatisfaction with the Cubs and their
former players, but the right-handed ex-Cy
Young Award-winning Arrieta might just look
good in the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium
with Rick Honeycutt tweaking his delivery.
One thing to understand about the Dodgers
and their front office executives is that they
have the tendency to not rely on expensive
free agent trades (like Stanton) or signings
to come in and save the day for the team.
Friedman and Zaidi took over with the promise
to create a sustainable model for success.
So far, they’ve done so, all while relying on
players like the previously unknown Chris
Taylor and others from the farm system like
Bellinger who don’t tend to initially break
the bank. The Dodgers will be near the top
or at the top of the MLB in payroll in 2018.
That figure is designed to drop drastically in
subsequent years. All that said don’t expect
the guys who are calling the shots to pull the
trigger on high-figured free agents. The front
office has a plan in place. Unfortunately for
the fans, it doesn’t involve taking on any other
large contracts that would force them into
paying the luxury tax next season.
The 2018 season is still months away with
162 games to be played that seemingly take
ages to complete beyond that. The Dodgers’
success next year is hard for fans to think
about right now, especially after feeling like
they’ve already missed out on two players
who could become huge difference-makers
like Ohtani and Stanton. Once the season
does start, though, the entire Dodger faithful
can rely on the fact that the team will once
again be among the league’s elite. Even with
a lineup closely resembling the one that took
the field last season, Dodger fans will certainly
still be able to look forward to competing for
a sixth straight NL West title and a World
Series appearance for what should become
the second year in a row. •
— Aserrao6@yahoo.com
Politically Speaking
One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion
Pettiness Ruins a Nice Moment
Meant to Honor Nation’s History
By Cristian Vasquez
During the weekend, President Trump was
present for the opening of the Mississippi
Civil Rights Museum. After his tour of
the museum, the President gave a short
speech in which he praised the work of civil
rights leaders such as Medgar Evans and Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, not
present at the event were other civil rights
leaders such as Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.),
whom the President accused via Twitter of
being all talk and “no action or results.” I
get it: it’s hard to sit and listen to President
Trump speak. The man has a 25-word
vocabulary, struggles to put together coherent
sentences and speaks like that one student
in class giving a book report who failed
to read the book. However, the opening of
the museum was more important than the
President’s presence.
In addition to Rep. Lewis, Rep. Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.) and President and
CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson missed
the event because of what they called the
President’s history of stirring up racial
divisions. Unfortunately, their absence gave
the President the power to highjack the
event. Granted this time Trump didn’t say
anything outlandish…but by not attending
the event because of the President’s presence,
the museum’s opening was robbed of its
purpose: to honor the life and work of civil
rights activists like Dr. King and Evans. The
event became about who wasn’t present and
who was in attendance, while the backdrop
became the museum’s opening. Having
members of the Civil Rights Movement
absent from the museum’s opening was a
significant loss for such a special occasion.
Reps. Lewis and Thompson, as well as
Johnson, certainly have the right to do as
they please. And who are any of us to lecture
Rep. Lewis on the struggle for civil rights?
Sadly, his presence would have done more
good for the event than did his absence. He
is living history. He was part of that struggle
and survived the violence and vile hatred that
so many African Americans endured at the
time. Rep. Lewis’ presence would have kept
the spotlight on the importance of having a
Civil Rights Museum in Mississippi, a state
that to the bitter end tried to preserve slavery
and segregation. Rep. Lewis’ presence would
have been a great sign that the fight for
justice overcomes the pettiness of politics
and the antics of a President who has failed
miserably at uniting a country.
Rep. Lewis, like thousands of others who
were beaten in the fight for equality, knows
better than most of us what it takes to turn
the other cheek. Furthermore, we all know
the effects of letting calm and logic prevail
over anger and instinct. I understand why
Rep. Lewis avoided the museum’s opening,
but it’s sad that instead of talking about
having this new location to honor our civil
rights leaders, the focus became who was
on the guest list. •
Winning! The Term Used by Actor
Sheen Also Applies to Prez Trump
By Duane Plank
“Winning!” Thus said obnoxious actor Charlie
Sheen after he was canned off his scandalous
show Two and a Half Men. First time I watched
that show, I cringed. I am no prude, but the
all-too-obvious sexual innuendos forced me to
turn the channel. Political connection? Well his
daddy, the great Martin Sheen, played President
J. Bartlett on the seminal political drama West
Wing, an NBC staple, back in the day.
Dang, how the not-so-mighty have fallen.
Fossil lib Senator John Conyers, octogenarian
from Michigan, who apparently ran around in
his underwear during staff meetings, is asked
to resign by the oh-so-mighty Dems who
protected the alleged rapist and cigar-wielder
Bill Clinton. Whose wife set up a war room
to discredit the women who came out against
Billy Boy when a bunch of ladies accused him
of nefarious misdeeds.
Nice to see some of the same women who
defended Bill and Hill so many years ago now
shockingly revising their thoughts on Billy Boy
Clinton’s dalliances. Better late than never, I
guess. As Hill continues her money-grab book
tour. Sorry, she is an embarrassment to this
country and should just go away. Have the
Clintons not made enough money grazing at the
swamp, the cesspool that is Washington, D.C.?
Lib Dem Senator Al Franken, from a state
somewhere near Canada, also took a fall in the
last week though, I am not sure about that one.
His indiscretions have been well-documented,
but if that photo of him lasciviously cupping--or
nearly groping--the breasts of current talker on
KABC radio Leeann Tweeden hadn’t been out
there, do you think he would have been forced
to hit the road?
What about the Roy Moore imbroglio? The
election was slated to take place on Tuesday, a
day after this riveting tome was filed. President
Donald Trump, who has spearheaded some
of the best economic times in recent history,
travailed to Pensacola, Florida and delivered a
full-throated support of what he and his band
of merry men have accomplished in the last
11 months. And wholeheartedly supported
Moore. Bad idea.
Stock market, 401K killing it, unemployment at
a record low. Job creation up, criminals jumping
the border are down. Yeah, Trump has bad hair,
but on balance his presidential tenure has been
pretty good for us loyal Americans. Right?
Not so much for the lefties though. Hardworking
man that I am, working two jobs, get up
at 4:45 a.m. to traverse to my gym. They have
a couple of TVs on when I schlep over there.
Unfortunately, last week one of them was tuned
to the lib CNN channel, who had a panel, per
usual, of lefty commentators still looking under
rocks to nab Jared Kushner for talking to some
Ruskies two years ago. Bunch of talking-head
buffoons, framed in that iconic Brady Bunch
nine-square…and not one of them was the
(alleged) money-stealer, local pol, Mad Max
Watters. Haven’t heard much from her recently.
Lord knows we don’t need another disgraced
Dem to pull a mea culpa. Or do we? •