The MLB offseason has been undeniably boring these past couple of seasons. It seems like the Andrew Friedman disease of doing nothing to add to your roster in the winter has caught on to the rest of MLB like a plague. Perhaps Friedman didn’t invent this style of do-nothing approach to roster building but it’s certainly caught on like instagram. The Dodgers after suffering another embarrassing playoff exit must take a look at how they can improve their roster to finally win a World Series championship. In order to do this they are going to have to add some proven postseason performers. These are guys that don’t just play well in the regular season and disappear in October, but guys that consistently perform on the big stage of October baseball.
For the record the Dodgers have very few of these players. Surely Justin Turner and Walker Buehler come to mind, but few others if any. The Dodgers desperately need players who are great postseason performers. This is why they should possibly look at signing Madison Bumgarner.
I know this is going to be an incredibly unpopular opinion. It’s hard for me to get my mind around the idea of seeing Bumgarner, one of our most loathed enemies wearing Dodger blue. But look, the guy is one of the greatest postseason pitchers of this generation and if he can help the Dodgers win a championship then maybe we should just put all that past stuff to bed and move forward.
Despite Bumgarner’s age (30 years old) he was able to pitch over 200 innings in 2019 and still posted respectable numbers. (9-9 3.90/3.90 203K/43BB 8.8 K/9 1.8 BB/9 1.1 WHIP) He’s become homer prone (30 hrs allowed) but so has most of the majors these days. But here’s why the Dodgers should take a look at him, he has an 8-3 career postseason record and a 2.11 ERA. This includes three complete game shutouts. (This is gross)
In the World Series he has a 4-0 record and a 0.25 ERA. He’s given up just one earned run on 14 hits in 36 innings in the fall classic. That’s why he was a World Series MVP. Even in the last time him and the Giants reached the postseason in 2016, he pitched another complete game shutout in the wild card game and has even pitched out of the bullpen as well back in game 7 of the 2014 World Series.
Look I don’t like Bumgarner anymore than you do. The thought is kind of sickening. However the Dodgers need guys who can play in October and I really want to win a World Series. Bumgarner is one of the best in the playoffs and wouldn’t be a bad back of the rotation guy as well. This means we would have to let all that other stuff go. We would have to let go of all the Yasiel Puig confrontations, the “go get it out of the ocean” incident with Max Muncy, and all the rest of Bumgarner’s crap. It’s a small price to pay if you want to win a World Series and Bumgarner could help the Dodgers do this. Now excuse me while I go shower.
Well the Dodgers have signed a hated Giant before, but he was way past his prime. Bum would bring a little fire to the picnic that is for sure. I have no problem with seeing him in a Dodger uni, but what would he cost? His post season numbers are great, and he might win a lot more games with LA considering the fact that they are a far better offensive team than the Giants. I would take the chance. But the real question would be does he want to pitch here.
Happy Veterans day to all of my brother vets. Badger who I know was in the Marines. And anyone else who ever served. Much respect and love to all.
No. JUST, NO.
Awww come on Dan, why???? Marichal was far more vilified than the Mad Bum, and he was a Dodger for a while. All kidding aside, I doubt it happens. And guess who was just named AL Rookie of the Year, Yordan Alvarez, the former Dodger traded for Josh Fields….nice move Andy!
Andy is a gift that just keeps on giving.
I am not all all surprised that a player who was traded away for practically NOTHING goes on to succeed elsewhere. It has happened on many occasions too. Remember a guy named Paul Konerko?
Bumgarner is a perfect fit. He’s past his prime and lost the last game he pitched in post season.
Is that schmidt guy still available?
Well you can forget the Mad Bum. MLBrumors has a story this morning about what it will cost teams who sign one of the 10 offered arbitration, which the Bum was. Anyone signing one of those guys is going to lose their #2 draft pick and 500 thou in International slot money. AF ain’t going to do that. They also had a list with the top free agents most likely landing spot. Only one player had the Dodgers at the top of his list, Ryu. Everyone else, they were near the bottom or not on the list at all. Of the top 3 guys, Cole, Rendon, and Strasburg, only Cole has a higher percentage chance of finding a new team. Rendon and Strasburg both over 50% to re-sign with the Nats. GM meetings are going on. Do not expect any trades, but this is where the groundwork for deals in December is sometimes laid. The work on Dodger Stadium has already begun. All the seats in the Left field pavilion are torn out.
I have a funny feeling that most FAs are not putting the Dodgers on their top spots to land. Between the constant platoon bullshit and the political and tax issues that are found in California, why in the hell would any young millionaire baseball player want to come here? Okay, the girls and party scene may be two reasons a young millionaire baseball player might want to come here.
The attraction Blue, is winning. And despite the fact they have not won the big prize, they still have the allure of a winning culture. Yeah, anyone who considers himself a full time player will probably not come to LA. They are rich, they hire high priced advisors to keep their taxes down. And the party scene in LA is way over rated, and during the season there is not all that much time to party and stay productive. Dodgers prefer players who are stable. Puig was the exception.
Michael, you hit the ‘nail on the head’. Because of the insistence on time sharing with players and L-R-L-R match ups, constant position and lineup shuffling on a daily basis are all reasons enough that players won’t want to be here.
Another reason of course is Roberts, after seeing how he managed again in t October. I honestly believe Roberts has set this franchise back at least 3 or 4 years because you are correct ..no big time FA or other player worth his salt would consider the Dodgers an attractive draw as of now.
Instead of all those stadium renovations, why don’t Dodgers spend some $$ on player renovations? I would bet almost every fan here would rather see upgrades to the on the field product as opposed to those stadium renovations.
it is simple, it is a money maker. The lemmings will pour into that stadium next year in what I would guess will be the largest numbers ever. Why? All Star game, totally new attractions, stadium upgrades for a better fan experience, and no doubt we will see a substantial boost in ticket prices. The product on the field has been winning. Not the big enchilada to be sure, but with the new walkway that goes all around the stadium making access so much easier, and center field will look like an amusement park. LA is after all the amusement park capitol of the world. They are going to make so much money, you would think they are using their own mint. The 3 day circus that is the all star game will make even more money, with the HR derby and the game prior that features the best prospects. They get one decent free agent, or even make a trade that actually brings someone with some star power, and boom, enthusiasm for the team will skyrocket. Of course, bad early results could hinder the master plan. But these guys are in the game and own the team for one thing, profits. Why do you think they have not fixed the TV fiasco yet? Face it, we are ownership’s ATM machine. And the daily withdrawal rate has no limits.
Well, thanks to me living 850+ miles from DS, I am not necessarily part of that ATM machine. And that TV deal? We know how most feel about that one. But again, I would be fully surprised if they sign any of the top FA’s talked about. As far as trades, Dodgers must learn that in order to get something of value in return they must be willing to give up something of value in return. After all we know Dodgers cannot keep them all nor do they have room to play them all.
I am farther away than you. But I can drive 120 miles up the 25 and see them when they come to Denver, a lot cheaper than Dodger Stadium. My bank has 2 for 1 tickets during the year some of the time. I got a seat behind home plate 5 rows up and it cost me 70 bucks. That same seat in LA is about 1200. It is just easier for me to pay the 120 a year for MLB prime package and watch the games on my big screen. I do not get the Rockies games against them until an hour after the game ends. What I have been doing is watching those games on Root Sports and listening to the LA broadcasters on my computer since I cannot stand Rockies announcer Drew Goodman. Giants hired Kapler. Zaidi and Kapler, Giant fans cannot be happy to former LA guys are running things. Piazza to manage the Italian team in the 2020 World Baseball Classic. Just another place to lose a prime piece to injury, remember Hanley getting hurt in that?>
Michael, true because southern Oregon is not as far as where ya reside and I actually have been to a few games while taking a vacation back to my orange County homestead. last game I saw in person was June 30, 2014 where Dodgers beat the Indians 1 to 0 and the starting pitcher, (temporarily forgot name) pitched a 1 hitter thru 7 innings. I do get Games on DTV’s Extra Innings and am fortunate enough to get most Dodger broadcasts except whenever they play the Giants.
Last game I went to was in June of this year. I spent 3 months out in Cali helping my sis after her knee surgery. It was a great game to go to. Phils were in town. Dodgers won on Will Smith’s walk off homer in the 9th. The game we went to earlier in the year was a Dodger win too. 3-1 with Pollock’s 3 run homer the only LA score. Usually when I do get out to California, my sis, brother and I like to go see the Dodgers farm team in Rancho. A lot cheaper and you get better seats.
Michael, was asking your sister to have surgery during Dodgers season coincidental? Or did you have an alternative motive?
***Spoiler Alert *** Spoiler Alert***It's a joke Michael***