Jackie Robinson got the Dodgers off to a flying start in the first inning of todays game with the Cubs by hitting a triple to right field. Robinson slides safely into third as Cubs third sacker Randy JAckson reaches for the throw from right fielder Bob Addis. The umpire is Lee Ballanfant. Robinson then came home on George Shuba's base hit as the Dodgers went on to beat the Cubs 9-6.It should come as no surprise that he was the bellwether in the game - as he was in life. Below are more links to check out:
Was [president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman given a mandate to decrease the payroll?
Kasten: Let's go back to the start. Did you not see us make big offers? Don't pretend that's not there. What is important is that we continue the program we began three years ago of becoming more self-reliant on our own development. Over the course of time, becoming a younger team will be cheaper, but it will also be one that stays good longer. From the start, I said we don't make decisions by looking at payroll. I didn't know what it was going to end up being last year. We had to do some cleanup for the new administration. If you told me it would be the highest in baseball again next year, that might well be right. I just don't know yet. It's not the biggest consideration. The biggest consideration is putting winning teams on the field.
Perhaps of greater interest with Alvarez is how easy his arm works to generate velocity. Alvarez has a fluid motion, though the arm action can be long, creating velocity so effortlessly. It’s that type of ease that makes many believe he will be an elite starter at his peak, needing little effort to produce plus stuff.
"It feels great," he said at Friday's annual children's holiday party. "I got off crutches beginning this week, started strengthening stuff, doing cardio stuff as low impact as I could. I saw ElAttrache and he was pretty pleased with how it looked."
