AGRI Biz

Budding young stars seem to be a trend in not only baseball, but in numerous sports. There is something to be said for harvesting your own players and having them shine. It has been a long time coming in baseball, where again exciting youth have arrived to sell out ballparks. One of the top organizations in the business the Los Angeles Dodgers, have been to the League Championships in consecutive years. This ...

The days of waiting for a Dodgers ace may be over. As much as Stephen Strasburg is dominating the headlines, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers deserves our attention. In Clayton's case, it won't make much difference if he receives it now or later, but he will receive it. The Dodgers as an organization have groomed this 2006 first-round draft pick perfectly. Easing his way into the majors, Joe Torre saw fit to keep ...

Intuition, intelligence, respect, and interpersonal relationship skills make up the character of the game's greatest skippers. What separates a common manager and a winning guru? Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves, Joe Torre of The Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals are perfect examples of what differentiates a club-house full of talent, to a unified team, striving to reach a common goal. It must not be easy, ...

 Long have been the days of opening our ears to the orchestra of baseball that is Vin Scully.  With fantastic elaborations and a profound prospective of the game, Mr. Scully has surely etched his name in Dodgers lore. Broadcasters on a regular basis come across plain, and at times, disagreeable. When it comes to Vin Scully, he is as irregular as they come.  Blending a style of intelligent humor, intricate play-by-plays, and a slew ...

Many fans, managers, teams, and writers alike are showing some concern over proven pitchers. Whether these reasons are due to injuries, poor performances, or simply debunked rumors, there are some players that have received unwarranted worry. When you hear the term "ace," you might think "a very good pitcher." An ace should be more to you than that. It should mean that he is the pitcher in your team's rotation ...

It is no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers have a lack of leadership in their starting rotation. Not due to lack of talent, but rather lack of experience. Ownership didn't bite the hook this off-season for a major contributing starter, whether that be for financial reasons or simply because they didn't see a piece that would fit. The facts are, the Dodgers want a World Championship and many would agree that you need one pitcher that can go seven to ...

Teams salivate for a ballplayer who can influence a game without reaching first. The majority of the time that ballplayer is a major power threat that pitchers eye in the on-deck circle. Although Davaris (Dee) Gordon is little and different. It is said that speed never has a slump, if that remains to be true it becomes frightening to think of what potential this 5'11", 140 lb, twenty one year old shortstop ...

Baseball is a game of numbers and here are a few that influenced the Dodgers and Hiroki Kuroda last season: 117.1 innings pitched, 20 games started, 12 HR allowed and a 40.50 postseason ERA. Many insiders and fans alike criticize the Dodgers for the lack of offseason pick-ups after another loss to the Phillies in the NLCS. The fact is, the Dodgers made it to the NLCS again, and believe they have what it takes to make ...

SP: Clayton Kershaw Kershaw should be dominating, one day; In fact, I believe he will be as early as the second half of this season. Look for him to post around the same ERA (2.79-2.90) as last year, but with about 30 to 35 more innings pitched (200-205). Joe Torre is respected as being a very baseball-intelligent man, and he compared Kershaw to Sandy Koufax. That is a high praise for ...

Question number one, what do the Dodgers have? Question two,áwhat do they need? The questionsáare very simple to answer. The Dodgers have a flurry of young stars, Manny Ramirez, Gold Glovers,ábut no ace. In order to play in the Fall Classic, it takes more than just one pitcher you are constantly counting on to deliver. You need that ace, that veteran, that mentor, the one who throw's a cutter that could ...