Black and Blue: A Dodgers Blog

The Dodgers Should Know Better

2009-01-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

Back in the day when Guillermo Mota was taking steroids with Eric Gagne and either doing the 7'th or 8'th inning, I really liked the guy. I'll even go so far as admitting I was sad to see him traded. The regret that I had didn't last long. He started sucking almost immediately and then the truth came out that he was using PED's. He just bounces around from team to team sucking as a reliever.

Well, for some reason the dodgers think they can rehabilitate him. And for some reason they thought spending 2.3-2.8 million on this guy was a good idea. What irks me most is they just let Beimel walk. While his performance declined (I believe because of misuse by Torre) he is a far more valuable pitcher than Mota could hope to be short of shooting up again. Heck, the two and a half to three million dollars would have been better gambled on Saito's elbow. Got the point that I don't like this signing yet?

Oh, and today the dodgers empty the garbage, disposing of Andruw Jones by releasing him if they haven't scrounged a deal like one scrounges for loose change in the couch for a Del Taco run. Wonder when it will be made official.

I'm out...

Finally!

2009-01-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

This offseason the Boston red sox is like the awkward fat kid at the birthday pool party. You saw him in his swim trunks, but he kept slowly pacing around the pool, and you kept wondering when he was going to jump in. The red sox finally made their splash into the free agent market by signing Rocco Baldelli, a guy who's name, look, and state of origin all scream new england. The biggest part of the splash that hit the pretty girls pretending to get a tan over their orange spraypaint was the surprise swoop up and grab of John Smoltz. Wow. I don't think anyone saw that coming. If it's rotation depth and insurance against Buccholz and Masterson painfully bellyflopping at the mlb level, they now have it. They now have Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Wakefield, Penny, and now Smoltz, with Buccholz and Masterson waiting in the wings for their chance.

I think part of me is overreacting because this is just another low risk contract to an injured pitcher that may or may not be permanently damaged goods. Smoltz is extremely old. You do have to take into account that the 4 or 5 years he closed saved a bit on the odometer in his arm. I think he'll be healthy.

Baldelli is another question mark. I'm sure he'll be at least an adequate fourth outfielder, but what if J.D. Drew performs one of his disappearing acts with some obscure injury? In my opinion, the sox might have been better served grabbing the groveling Jay Payton for the "sure thing" in the fourth outfielder market. But Baldelli could have huge upside if his health really can be kept under control enough for him to play full time or nearly full time. I think that's a reasonable risk to take. It seems that's all the red sox have done so far is bet money on injury risks. At least one of the gambles will pay off to make up for the ones that don't. For example the sox give 5 million each to Smoltz and Penny. If one of them pitches well, that's still 10 million for a good performing pitcher, which while not a coup, is still a better value than signing Jon Garland his 12 million to pitch league average plus or minus a little and having to commit 3 or 4 years to him. They both will have incentives in the deal so you would have to add 3-5 million to the 10 million, but still that equals about what you'd pay a free agent, except the red sox are only on the hook for one year.

These signings don't always work out, though. The dodgers tried a reclamation project on Randy Wolf. It pretty much failed and he was the only guy brought in so situated. If they'd signed 3 guys like that would it be worth it? You also have to take into account NRI guys like Takashi Saito latch on and have an impact, which makes up in part on money wasted on injured players, but it's a crapshoot. Why does this seem to work with pitchers but not for, let's say, center fielders?

I like the idea, I don't know if it's been done before, in this mass-signing of rehabbers hoping one or two turn out to make up for the ones that fail. I wonder if that's even the strategy the red sox are employing. Maybe they're just scrambling around, but I doubt it because it seems ridiculous that free agents wouldn't want to play for Boston since they are a winning team year after year. I'm not a sox fan, but I'm still shocked that Teixeira signed with the yankees. It still makes no sense for me with all the old people on the yanks to clog up first base. Maybe the yankees are just prepared to release guys like Matsui and eat their contracts a la L.A. and Andruw Jones. What I also don't understand is why the sox wouldn't at least attempt to keep Lowe away from the yankees by at least pretending to have interest in him. Don't think the yankees won't go bat shit crazy and add Lowe once he gets pissed enough with the Mets lowballing him to bolt and sign for less than his 16 million price tag. The media may have maligned him on the way out, but they can rehab his image for his homecoming with a line of crap about him cleaning up his personal life and straightening up after the rude awakening of the sox not wanting him back when he was previously a free agent.

o.k. I've rambled enough for today...oh wait, I forgot to mention the dodgers lost out on Trevor Hoffman. Yawn. It's o.k. It might have been a nice treat at 4-5 million with incentives, but a closer isn't really on the shopping list this offseason.

Only 9 More Days of Andruw Jones! Start the Countdown!

2009-01-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

I hesitated about posting again about Andruw even though a few more things were made clear about that whole contract restructuring thing because I wanted everything to be made clear before going on and on speculating on the various scenarios regarding a player I'd rather not think that much about. So now we know the deadline bartered for in the restructuring requires the dodgers to trade or release him by the 15'th and that his 22.1 million bucks has been spread over 6 years. According to Cot's, he gets no interest on the deferred money. That's about 3.7 mil/year? I'm surprised about the no interest part. Now onto sox-related faire.

Puck is none too happy the sox were linked to Saito in the press. She was unhappy when the dodgers didn't even offer Beimel arbitration, also. Proctor? She's glad he's gone. She understands the concept of not paying relievers lots of money because of the uncertainty in them being able to reproduce their production, and about the dodgers needing to make room for their younger pitchers, but she doesn't care. Since the sox are interested in Saito, I'll link and blab a bit about his arm. Apparently he suffered a torn ligament in his elbow last season and instead of having Tommy John surgery he had stem cells injected into it, rested two months, and had back at it (it's only a flesh wound!) near the end of the season with mixed results. So yeah, his elbow is a mess and he's 38. I can understand not gambling 2-3 million all guaranteed for that. If it weren't the sox interested in him, I'm sure the whole thing about his elbow would be in the second sentence, but huge deference is given to the red sox organization's ability to judge talent and work with injuries. If that sounded bitter, it was lol. I really hope they kind of work something out with him. Speaking of old closers, Trevor is being all buddy-buddy with the brewers, and with Moorad et al buying the padres, there's talk of him re-signing with San Diego.

Now back to Andruw. Despite my happiness that Andruw will be gone soon, and the fact that it seems the dodgers' GM has seemed to have gotten better at his job, I can't help but think this move comes back to haunt them deep in a pennant race near the deadline in the next 3 seasons or so. It would be the dodgers luck that Andruw's 3.7 million (guesstimating based on Cot's and what I've read) would be the cash that prevents the dodgers from adding payroll while in a pennant race. They may still make the move, but it will be Casey Blake style (giving away good prospects with even better names like Carlos Santana just to get the other side to pay salary). One of those moves will be what really irks me 3-4 years or so removed from the trade when said prospect is a budding star or phenom for another team. Santana specifically may make me want to spit by the end of the '09 season.

Guess There Was Already Some Scratching Going On

2009-01-01T19:50:00.001-08:00

This goes to show how little imagination and how Forrest I feel two hours or so after making that last post. I guess I am about three steps behind the dodgers front office. I was watching MLBTV and then Leiter, Larkin, and Reynolds start talking about Manny and then Jones.

So apparently Boras, Andruw, Manny and the dodgers are trying to work out money and contracts that would end up with Manny a dodger and Andruw Jones not-a-dodger. How this would work out makes me feel about as smart as Pedro Guerrero (who's lawyer defended him on a drug charge by stating poor Pedro's IQ was 72 and was essentially too dumb to have participated in the drug offenses he was charged with). The deferred buyout thing sounds feasible but that still doesn't save the dodgers any money or make a trade scenario work without the dodgers still basically sending money to whichever team gets him...they just defer how long before Jones gets his money while still playing for another team. I think I just need to let this one play out instead of overthinking what sounds to be an extremely complicated transaction.

Scratch Boras' Back, Maybe He'll Scratch Yours

2009-01-01T17:18:00.001-08:00

I couldn't have imagined the offseason going as it has. I really thought Sabathia was above taking a boatload of cash to head to the evil empire. I was wrong. I also thought the dodgers and Manny were a match made in some strange hell. I think I'm still right on that. So, a lot of Boras clients are having trouble with the market Boras thought he could establish for them because he scared skiddish owners away from even talking to him. The dodgers are a beneficiary of some crazy luck in regards to this with Manny Ramirez. If the dodgers were smart and the McCourts opened up their wallet a little more, they could be the team to beat just by bailing out Boras a bit. Here's my evil plan.

The dodgers coax out a quicker resolution with Manny at 2 years 46 million with a 3'rd year team option for another 23 in exchange for some true bidding on the dodgers part for Boras client Derek Lowe. Derek, Boras, and the dodgers all know Derek hates L.A (really bad infield defenses coupled with worse offense will kill the numbers of a pitcher even as talented as Lowe is). Dodgers would love to have him back (it's the truth). Lowe would float it out there that he would reconsider the dodgers if the price were right. Dodgers proceed to get "serious" in negotiations for Lowe. Numbers get floated to the press. All of a sudden New York mets fans are sounding as impatient as a lot of dodger fans are right now about Manny. The hot stove pressure cooker squeezes a few more million a year (I think he deserves it myself) out of the Mets and it's a win-win for everyone (except maybe Oliver Perez).

What if the plan fails and the mets just work out something with Oliver Perez instead? Well, that's still a win-win as far as the dodgers are concerned. They can still afford Lowe. Their payroll is still under last year's. Jeff Kent (9 mill) Nomar (8.5 million) Lowe (10 mill) Penny (8.5 mill) all came off the books. They even saved money re-signing Furcal (about 3 a year). They're 39 million under where they were last year in terms of just FA leaving. 23 million to Manny still leaves 14-15 million to give to Lowe easily. That would wrap up the dodgers offseason and leave it with a rotation of:

Lowe

Billingsley

Kuroda

Kershaw

McDonald/Stults/Elbert/Kuo/Circus Vargas/NRI

the lineup will look decent with:

Furcal ss

Martin c

Ethier rf

Manny lf

Kemp cf

Loney 1b

Blake 3b

DeWitt 2b

The lineup is just hard to predict because guys like Kemp, Ethier, and Loney aren't really clearly defined as hitters yet and all saw time hitting ahead of Manny or as #3-4-or5 hitters. Torre moved the kids all over the place and I don't see why he wouldn't do that this year until someone breaks out and goes on a streak that becomes the new "them" as a hitter.

There's a lot improved about that new team. DeWitt full time at second owns Kent and his very limited range. A healthy Furcal covers a lot of ground (but then throws a few away with that rifle of his). I'm mixed on my take on Blake's defense but you have to figure what Blake can't get to to his left, Furcal will get to his right. Loney has good defense over at first. Maybe Martin will play more within himself this season and his defense will go back to what it used to be, especially with throwing out baserunners. Hate to say this but if Torre falls out of love with Blake DeWitt, at least they have Loretta there as a backup as they go through the usual suspects...I mean prospect middle infielders. Hard to say how DeWitt is going to turn out as he didn't show any power, but then again he was hardly pitched to in the number 8 hole. He dutifully took his walks most of the time.

The outfield may be in a bit of transition, so it might even out. Kemp doesn't look totally comfortable in center, but he's going to have to play there the majority of the time under this scenario and will most likely get better. Ethier has gunned down enough people to have a rep to not run on him. Jones should solidly improve the outfield defense when Kemp, Ethier, or Manny are on a day off. Pierre is alright in center but you have to worry about people running on his arm. Both kids will lose a day or so a week to Pierre and Jones. I'm sure Manny will love that the surplus of outfielders gives him a great excuse to rest his knees at least once or twice a week as well. That just might work out except for the fact that without Manny this team offensively isn't much to be scared of until one or two of the kids breaks out. The defense should be alright. Manny didn't look that bad in left at dodger stadium. I think his defense is ever so slightly underrated because he plays defense smart despite being extremely slow.

Wow. I spent way too much time pondering a pretend team.

Circus Vargas! Circus Vargas!

2008-12-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

Dodgers signed journeyman pitcher Claudio Vargas no doubt as veteran insurance for their rotation should young arms falter. I'm ok with this as the guy is nearly league average in limited innings and he gets paid no more than 1 and a half million to do it. This is a lot better than signing people like Brett Tomko for 4 million and have him pitching the 7'th inning down the stretch because he didn't work out as a starter. It's been pretty expensive, but it seems Colletti is getting better at his job. Or maybe his assistant GMs are able to give him more input. /shrugs. I dunno.

Red Sox Sign Penny

2008-12-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

How to come to your own take would be to read a bunch of the articles linked to in his rotoworld news page.

My take: Red Sox got a good deal. I thought Penny was worth the option. The dodgers didn't. Ken Gurnick, the guy that follows the dodgers for the mlb.com family of sites hinted that the dodgers don't like his attitude (he was kinda sour grapes during the playoffs), his work ethic (I think this is the main reason), and I'm going to have to assume his injuries factor in there somewhere.

But enough about my uninformed opinions, let's get to Penny's history with the dodgers. He came over in a trade with the marlins. He was supposed to be flipped to Arizona with others for Randy Johnson but GM Paul DePodesta backed out of that trade with the diamondbacks and yankees. Harsh words were flung around about never dealing with the dodgers again lalala.
Yankees and Arizona worked out a trade later without the dodgers.

Penny started a few times after being acquired before having to be dl'd with what was at first just a mysterious arm injury that ended up being a pinched nerve. They rested him and then put him back out there but he still was ineffective and bothered by the nerve. He finally had it cut in the offseason and was fine after that. He's had a problem with his shoulder being sore like almost every pitcher does, but I believe he's never had anyone fooling around in there (except to ensure he hadn't torn a labrum or rotator cuff when they weren't sure what was wrong with his arm yet).

The thing that bothered me the most about him medically was an la times or a dodgers mailbag article (can't find it) where he complained about his back. Look at his pre and post all star game splits year-by-year. Penny typically starts off like a very dominant pitcher (and gets into the all star game) and then completely disappears the rest of the season all Jekyll and Hyde style. He said that some of his problems were due to pain in his back that didn't allow him to throw the split fingered fastball that he used to use as his out pitch (Penny throws a 4& 2 seamer, what used to be a looping curve that's now almost a slurve, a weak change up, and used to throw a splitter). So he started pitching to contact (watch the lowered k/9) with mixed results.

Another rap on him was the bitching you and your father do about Dice-K. Penny, could hit 100 pitches before getting through the fifth inning. That was another reason he chose to try to pitch to contact a season or two ago. So even if he's completely healthy don't expect him to go deep into games, as he misses few bats.

Penny got knocked around badly this year. It was hard to watch. People keep talking about his last appearance in the all star game as a reliever throwing 99 mph. That's all well and good, but when he was throwing 95+ as a starter, he would still get hit and hit hard. Reason he was is because his pitches had zero movement because (in my opinion) he was trying to protect his back. Now to tie this in with the rumor dropped in a dodgers mailbag article about why Penny's option wasn't picked up. Gurnick hinted that the dodgers weren't happy about his work ethic. I'm thinking that was in part due to his back. He has a bit of a gut but he wasn't hungry-hungry hippo looking like Sidney Ponson.

This leads me to believe there is next to nothing wrong with Penny's arm/shoulder--at least a kind of problem that stops him from throwing the ball extremely hard. He was throwing 95 in the start before he was put on the disabled list. He was throwing 98-99 before coming off the disabled list but had to be put right back on two starts later and stayed there for good. The guy never lost velocity, which you would expect if your shoulder is bothering you. The doctors found scar tissue in the shoulder on MRI that may be impinging his rotator cuff--that's the closest thing to defining the shoulder problem that I can find.

Right after that the organization put it out there that they might not pick up his option if he continued to have problems with the shoulder, with the article about being unhappy with his work ethic not coming out until November. All pitchers deal with some level of soreness, but it doesn't usually kill half your season. ***(go to rotoworld.com and look at the articles linked to in his player information page because I'm going mostly on memory)***

I believe It's primarily his back, and Penny's got to be the guy motivated enough to do the exercise it takes to keep those muscles strong back there so he can throw his breaking pitches for strikes again so guys aren't just sitting on his fastball (yes, that's what people did because it was that straight). All this talk about the Red Sox shoulder program is a great match for Penny is a bunch of hogwash homerism that tries to find genius in every move the red sox make. I'm sure the sox rehab program and people are great, but Penny probably doesn't have shoulder problems (at least the kind I'm used to seeing where the guy goes out there and throws 88 mph when he usually sits at 92-93), and if he does it's not doing anything to his velocity.

I think I've repeated myself through here enough times to almost want to check if some guy named William who's last name starts with a B might really be my biological father. To offset all the smack I just did about Penny, he is a fierce competitor. I wouldn't be surprised that the recent derailment of his career/earning potential might be just what was needed to restore his work ethic if that is indeed the problem. Add in that he's only their 3'rd or 4'th best pitcher in terms of talent where he was used to being called the ace or at worst a #2 in L.A. Penny, when healthy, is a dominant pitcher who should've won a C.Y. already. All he needs are his breaking pitches to work and movement on his 2 seamer and he's set to pitch very well, even in the A.L. beast. He's a bargain for the sox at 5+ million. I wish he would've been willing to do the work to be the best he could be as a dodger, but I can also see why he didn't (bad defenses, high turnover, being the "top dog" already on the team, oh yeah, and poor ass run support). Good luck with that, Biz.

I Might Have to Post This On My Wall

2008-12-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

There must be a pig flying somewhere. There also should be a small glacier somewhere in hell. Scott Boras came crawling back. My jaw dropped. I'm not so sure Colletti's voice was raspy from laryngitis or if he was trying to make sure he didn't bust out laughing to the reporter. This is really the best case scenario for the dodgers after exploring the other options. With Adrian Beltre, Boras steered his client away from L.A. without a chance to match an offer and never a chance to meet with Boras' client.

I take much glee in seeing Boras' mouth stuffed with crow.

Bizut, I had read that comment the day after you posted it, but I read it in my email instead of on the blog, forgotten about it, but here's along the lines of what I was thinking after having read it: You should still like/follow the red sox. They have home grown talent right now. They are a big market team so expect a few (or more) in-prime superstar free agents. They kinda have no choice with Lowell because third baseman are/were hard to find, and the red sox did well to pick him up (he was kinda garbage around the time of the trade...he was salary dumpage). They really should let Varitek skip into a forced retirement as a lesson to Boras and any other vet that thinks they can ransom the sox. But anyway, shouldn't you be happy that the red sox lost out on him (it's probably which team you lost him to rather than losing Teix) but still. I think the sox are in a great position. They have resources, but they also have a front office that (most of the time, anyways) is great at finding deals/bargains/overperformers in any section of whatever big box retailer they are in...even the deals that require a lot of capital (Dice-K), or prospects (Beckett, I think the red sox have still done okay without a real shortstop). The yanks don't look for and sign your Wakefield type guy to a huge deal of a contract and keep him around because it's smart, they go for broke. They are the king kong of the baseball franchise world, they only use brute force. Yanks have Damon in left/DH while the red sox have Ellsbury.

Don't worry, Bizut, the sox aren't dumb, which is more than I can say about the yanks. They may have signed CC, Burnett, and Teixeira, but they have too many old guys for 1 DH spot, a crowded outfield that's going to be bad defensively. If I were facing the yankees I would try my best to hit it up the middle because Jeter and Cano can't field. They suck defensively at catcher with or without Posada. First base is clogged up now so Girardi is going to piss off a lot of players by not giving them the amount of playing time they're used to.

So, the sox may have their problems, but the yankees still have theirs in a bunch of bad contracts they can't dump on anyone else because nobody else could afford those contracts when they were handed out to begin with and all the owners are "apparently" brok (I don't believe that, it's just a great excuse to keep salaries from going even higher, except that the yankees don't want to play along). When Mark Teixeira is a 35 year old DH that looks a lot more like Greg Luzinski you won't be so down on the sox. The sox could've used Teixeira, but they don't need him (as long as Lowell holds up).

I totally forgot to post this

2008-12-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post about this but my other half went to a company christmas party about a week and a half ago. Afterwards she went to this bar and won the v.i.p. treatment on a couch to watch this glam metal rock tribute band. In the audience was former padres relief pitcher Clay Hensley (cnicknamed 'The Claw' because of his sidearm delivery) and padres 5'th outfielder Paul McAnulty. Puck said they walked right by her and her work friends and that they looked like normal guys except for being a bit too old to be sporting the jock look. She became aware that there were Z list celebs when the band announced to the audience that 'The Claw' had signed a contract with the astros. So Puck scooped out all the reporters in telling me that Hensley was on the astros. So I chuckled when I read the reported deal on rotoworld.com a week and a half later.

Yanks Come Out Of Nowhere and Sign Teixeira

2008-12-23T13:03:00.001-08:00

The original rumors didn't surprise me because the yanks are rumored to be after anyone and everyone. This signing is good for the yankees as it puts a new, young, slugger in his prime in the heart of an ever aging yankees lineup. Who do the yanks bat third, Teixeira or Rodriguez? Who knows? They both have that unclutch reputation.

Now on to the part my audience of one wants to read This signing to me was more of just a snaking a player from the Red Sox to keep them down than an effort to make their team better. They had plenty of players that can hit to DH or play first. In fact, with all the old players they have it would make sense to keep first base open. This does however help the team New York ends up dumping Melky, Nady (if they think his '08 was a fluke and sell high, but they won't be able to trade him once they agree on a contract for months) or Damon on, as they have no leverage. Maybe the yanks are going to give a long look to that prospect Brett Gardner. The team needs a real center fielder because Swisher is a corner, and kind of mediocre at that (for the yankees). I wouldn't be surprsed if he's dealt and they go after Baldelli so that they have a guy they won't take up a huge amount of at-bats to keep all the outfielders happy. I wonder what happens to Wilson Betemit because of this. He stands to lose playing time as well.

This hurts the sox. The sox had the opportunity to sign a star first baseman in his prime which would have moved Youkilis to third baseman so the team wouldn't be totally reliant upon the aging Mike Lowell who's production faltered in '08. The missed opportunity of trading Lowell while he still has value is what hurts the most. They could have gotten a lot for him. So this offseason ends up looking like the last few years in that the sox need a shortstop (if they don't believe in Lowrie) and a center fielder (if they don't believe in Ellsbury, which I'm sure they still do) so all they really need is pitching, and the best pitcher is gone. Right now they've got:

Beckett
Dice-K
Lester
Wakefield--If no starter is signed, he's going to see his innings increase and I don't think that's a good thing.
Buccholz--As a non-sox fan I'm not sold on Buccholz and I don't think the sox give him much of a leash.
Masterson-I'm not sure how the sox feel about him as a starter. They can't load 200 innings on him after he pitched about 150 between the minors and the big club. So he might be the ideal 5'th starter candidate.
Here's what's left:

Derek Lowe-----Probably the best pitcher left. Has been a great pitcher since the sox let him go.Will be worth the 14-16mil.
Paul Byrd-------Average, durable pitcher. Great 5'th starter for a good team like the sox.
Bartolo Colon----Don't think the sox want to tempt fate by adding him as a 5'th starter/swingman
Elmer Dessens---Capable swingman/long reliever in small doses
Jon Garland-----He's just like Paul Byrd, an average to slightly above average pitcher that is durable. Decent 5'th starter type
Randy Johnson---He wouldn't want to play for the sox. He likes the west coast too much. He's pulling a David Wells.
Braden Looper---Not sold on him as a starter, might as well sign Byrd or Garland
Pedro---------That would be sweet, but he's too brittle and might not bounce back. He can't do over 150 innings.
Brad Penny------If he got pissed off enough to lose weight & work on his back he could be the best value signing.
Oliver Perez-----Too inconsistent for losing a draft pick over.
Andy Pettitte----He'd be ok as a 5'th starter, but his ego demands 15 million dollars, and he's a yankee. He's not an option.
Curt Schilling----Screw him. Too old, too big a mouth, and too much of an injury. Let him play his video games.
Ben Sheets------Great pitcher with an even greater injury risk.
Randy Wolf-----Might be a nice idea but probably gets hammered in that park and division--plus he gets hurt.

If I were the sox my strategy would be to sign someone that can keep Wakefield a 5'th starter or maybe even a spot starter until Masterson is ready to go full time. Also have to prepare for the certainty of injury to at least Beckett, the Diceman, and possibly Lester. That alone would be enough work for Masterson while still adding a new starter. There really isn't anyone out there that pitches markedly above average consistently and doesn't have any question marks except Lowe. If they want to replace the injury innings then they should just re-sign Byrd or sign Garland and push Wakefield back down to 5'th starter. Hopefully Buccholz remembers how to pitch sometime in '09 so he can get another look down the stretch.

All this said, the red sox staff without any additions is ready for prime time. When all you're trying to do is keep Wakefield a 5'th starter or spot starter you know you have a strong pitching staff. Adding someone is just either icing on the cake for a Lowe signing or the equivalent of adding another layer of frosting depth if a different starter is added. Not much to do with the pen either, but please leave Mike Timlin's arm out of it.

Furcalcations

2008-12-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

I guess that means the implications stemming from re-signing Furcal.

I guess you could conclude that next season's deadline trade bait would include a middle infielder out of Hu, Abreu, or DeJesus. This doesn't completely kill the chance of one of those playing their way into a job Blake DeWitt style, as Furcal will probably go through a DL stint next season at some point.

The dodgers aren't going "youth" as an excuse to slash payroll like the pads and d-backs. I was scared this was the case and that the pursuit of Furcal was halfhearted.This not being the case, I guess it's safe to bet the dodgers will try to add Manny or an alternative like Bobby Abreu and a pitcher.

A trade of Juan Pierre or Andruw Jones just got easier to pull off. Chances are it still doesn't happen, but now that the team has no holes except for a 5'th starter and a backup catcher, the dodgers are in a better position to match up with teams to dump the salary nightmares that are Jones and Pierre. Some team should want to take a chance on Jones as he's in his walk year and is already done interviews in the winter league talking about how he's lost weight and is getting his confidence back. The reds are a team that could use him. They could use Pierre too. The braves, white sox, florida, astros, brewers, royals...basically a lot of teams might want one or the other to varying degrees. Hopefully Pierre & Jones both showcase often enough and well next season to bolster interest.

The ability to trade for Jake Peavy just increased. The trio of middle infield prospects just got a bit more expendable. The padres need a real shortstop as right now they're targeting vet scrubs.

The leadoff role is taken care of.

The infield defense just got better. Plan B was the kids and Angel Berroa rotating. Despite the good D some may have, when you don't play everyday you're bound to make more mistakes in the field. This is important because Casey Blake doesn't seem to cover that much ground and DeWitt may not cover that much ground as a third baseman covering second. An unhurt Furcal covers lots of ground, you just have to watch out for the wild throws.

Torre is happier with his team. You can tell he loves Furcal. That might turn out to him hanging around longer before hanging them up as a manager.

Furcal Finally Makes Up His Damned Mind

2008-12-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I kind of avoided a session of online Mario Kart Wii with family because I figured the story would break last night. It didn't. Mostly I haven't done Mario Kart online because I suck at it still. More so that it's been so long since I'd played. So I've played for an hour the last two days trying to get my bearings back on that game. Oh wait, I was supposed to be talking about Furcal's new deal with the dodgers... .

So it's either 30/3 years or 33/3 years. Three million of it is paid as a deferred signing bonus. There's a 600 PA vesting option for 12 million. 600 ab's would be hard but I'm not so sure 600 pa's is too difficult if you're batting leadoff and play at least 120 games. If the contract is for 30/3 them I'm mildly impressed. I just hope he stays healthy. If he does, he'll earn his contract and then some. I'm glad I don't have to wonder what the heck Furcal is doing today and the dodgers can move on with their offseason plans.

Oh yeah it's still sleeting/snowing here. Not just a dusting either. I was shocked at first, but now I'm just kinda pissed. I have pictures and I'll post them when I get around to it. We moved to not have to deal with this. They are supposed to de-ice the roads tonight (by that I'm assuming just the interstates and major highways).

More Anger Lobbed C.C.'s Way

2008-12-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not done yet. You will rue this day, C.C.! You will rue it when you wake up one morning and your team, if it can be called that (more like a bunch of mercenaries), is in last place, you're dating Madonna and the Steinbrenners are openly regretting your contract in the press the day after any start where you give up more than two runs. You will also read in the papers that it's your fault the team couldn't add offense when the yanks are failing to produce runs in a slump. When it gets you too down, just go to an ATM and check your balance. If it's worse than bad take out about 10 grand and jerk off on it, because God knows you're too fucking fat to roll around on it in bed without tearing most of the bills. Things could have been different, C.C. I thought you were different man, but you're just a buster! I wouldn't even try to visit Vallejo without bodyguards in the future if I were you.

O.K. I think I'm done now.

C.C., you stink, and I hate you!

--guess not

Why, C.C!?!? Whyyyyy!?!?!?!

2008-12-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

Screw the yanks. It's not fair. They shouldn't be allowed to have all the good pitching. They don't even deserve any of the decent free agent pitchers with all the old position players on the team. Why, C.C.!?! Why!?!?

/5 year old off.

This morning reminds me of when the angels got Vlad because the dodgers couldn't get the money together (or the approval of mlb) to offer Vlad Guerrero the contract they wanted, so he went to the angels. Dodgers can't get their crap together in time to give C.C. an offer when he tells someone to tell someone to give him one because he'd like to play there but nooooooooooooo!!!! /5year old off again. Not how I wanted to wake up this morning.

Why Casey Blake Is So Important to the Dodgers Offseason

2008-12-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

I should try to sneak into the Bellagio, but I won't. But if I did and somehow managed to sneak into Ned Colletti's suite he would probably be babbling on about why he has to get a deal done with Blake. Stupid fan that I am would ask him why the heck is he bothering with bitch-ass Casey Blake when he could've answered C.C. this afternoon in the hallway with a shouting, "Yes! I want you to be a dodger too!"

Here's the answer...I think. Casey Blake plays third base. He's an average third baseman. Nobody really needs him because they have better...except of course the dodgers. The dodgers have hardly any infield with the mass exodus of free agents. Committed payroll is about 60 million for 2009. Shortstops and second baseman are so hot they are still mulling and in the case of Furcal outright rejecting offers. The calculation is that it's much easier to pay Mr. Mediocre to shore up third base, shift Blake DeWitt to second base, and allow young players to fight it out for shortstop if Furcal generates offers enough to leave the dodgers behind. Of course the market for Furcal may implode and he may come crawling back, but the dodgers can't afford to wait that out while Casey Blake signs elsewhere.

So the cost of waiting and the cost of filling the infield with a high priced second baseman and/or shortstop that a ton of other clubs are interested versus the cost of quickly and cheaply filling third baseman and then focusing on pitching and left field happens to make Casey freakin' Blake the linchpin for a successful dodgers offseason. Not signing Blake probably would make for a dodgers offseason without a competitive offer for Sabathia because they'd either spend too much time bidding over infielders that their money is too tight to make a competitive offer to Sabathia or they win protracted battles for O-dog and/or Rafael Furcal and be too broke to. Either way, Casey, you save the day.

Would Luis Castillo Be A Decent Fit?

2008-12-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

So according to some idiot that makes up and writes/reports rumors for a living for FOX, the mets really want to get rid of Luis Castillo. As you may or may not know, Castillo is signed until 2011 at 6 million per year. Just offhand I remember a few articles mentioning how the mets organization wasn't too thrilled with his work ethic and how well he maintains his body. Two big red flags. Looking at the numbers he's solid in getting on base. He's got a bit of speed left in him. He seems to either been injured or just benched because of the aforementioned unhappiness of the organization with him because his at bats are limited to just under 300. I believe his defensive rep isn't that great but that would probably still mean he's a tad better than Kent's defense last season.

On the other hand, Castillo has publicly begged not to be traded and has reportedly worked out like he should have been doing the last few years or so after he signed that deal with the mets. He could totally give up once traded or work even harder to show the mets they made a mistake in not sticking with him.

I'd want him except for that onerous contract. 6 million isn't that big to a big market team like the dodgers, but they have too many other mistakes on the books to take Castillo as a stopgap second baseman until the younger players sort themselves out. He would be the third hardest to trade member of the team behind Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre.

So as nice as it would be to stick Blake DeWitt at third base and abandon the sheep in wolves clothing that are the third base free agents, I think the dodgers should pass on a cheaply obtainable second baseman with a fugly contract.

Just imagine Frank McCourt calling the Suze Orman show during the 'Can I afford it?' segment and trying to justify adding a 6 million dollar second baseman. You managed to do that? You've got a better imagination than I do then.

Why the Dodgers Could Use Varitek

2008-12-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I'm writing a post titled this. I can't believe Varitek declined arbitration. I still wouldn't want him. Given the rumor that Varitek won't accept arbitration I have to predict he won't be going back to the sox and will go to the first team that will give him more than one year and more than 10 mil/per.

So why could the dodgers use him when there's plenty of teams without decent catchers like the Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Mets, Brewers, Reds, Blue Jays, Marlins, Pirates, and Royals (every team past the reds needs a catcher but won't be a player for Varitek because they either have no money or they suck too hard and are rebuilding, and nothing says rebuilding than signing a 36 year old free agent catcher to a multiyear contract)?

To make nice with Boras. Kinda like that article that talked about Varitek and Teixeira being packaged. Boras decides for most of his clients where they're going and then orchestrates a plan that ensures his clients get paid the most based on where/when/how/what they sign.

Varitek is going to have a tough time. A team with some money to throw around like the dodgers could help Boras out with one of his tougher cases. In return Boras could help the dodgers out in two ways that I'm aware of.

Help orchestrate a trade of Andruw Jones out of L.A.
Help the dodgers sign one or more of the following free agents: Manny, Teixeira, Lowe, Byung-Hyun Kim, Oliver Perez, and Joe Crede (unnecessary if Martin is moved to third)

These are both important to the dodgers. Depending on what the dodgers really want to do this offseason, clearing out Jones' payroll or winning the free agent lottery on Manny or Teixeira may be worth downgrading at catcher and limiting production at third by moving Russell Martin there. Clearing even most of Jones salary off the books might be what the dodgers need to be able to sign both Manny and Teixeira. Hopefully they leave one for another team and seriously talk to Sabathia if they have that much cash to use, but hey, it's not my money.

Russell Martin to third base removes the need to negotiate further with Casey Blake and keeps Blake DeWitt at second. Now if the dodgers hadn't traded away a great catching prospect in Carlos Santana there might never be a reason to move Martin back after Tek is gone.

Being the surprise recipients of Teixeira would allow the dodgers to trade Loney for a shortstop, or pitching help. I love Loney but he can't play anywhere else and Teixeira is in his prime and ready to anchor the dodger lineup for the next 4-5 years or so (too bad the bastared can't play third base...if Teixeira was still playing first with Hank Blalock's bobbling hands at third it's pretty safe to say Teix can't play third). Loney may only have 1 or 2 great years in him with 25-30 homers.

It initially sounds like such a bad idea, but if you really think about it what's so bad about a 15 homerish third baseman with great defense and gets on base? Martin's offense probably gets a boost resulting in Casey Blake numbers plus a higher .obp...Varitek, despite his decline isn't a total slouch at catcher with his 13 homers and could have another bounce back year before he's toast. He's gone from semi-elite to serviceable.

If cozying up to Scott Boras ends up netting Mark Teixeira or trading Andruw Jones for anything of value while not eating more than 20% of his salary, then it was probably more than worth the downgrade at catcher and moving Martin. If it only helps us talk Lowe back into re-signing I'd be pretty torn about it. Netting Oliver Perez in free agency would be quite a nice throw-in.

Anyways, I dislike Scott Boras very much and if I were a GM I would avoid his clients as much as possible. I don't think the dodgers can help Boras out of his client's hole this time. There's just too many teams with good, young catchers to want to sign Varitek so even a false bidding war with leaked dodgers negotiations and offers flooding the hot stove wouldn't work. Varitek is going to have to wait a long time before teams start showing interest. Even the promise of help with other clients can't induce such a bizarre signing with money drying up in the middle of a recession/depression. If I had to guess it'd be the Tigers if he wants to stay in the AL or the Phillies if he goes to the NL. O.K....I predict Phillies.

What I Thought 5 Months Ago and What I Think I Know Now

2008-11-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

I wrote this draft on 6-15-08...everything in ()'s is my 11-10-08 editorial on it:

I've emotionally held onto the ridiculous theory that semi-elite players on big market teams are more likely to be apathetic after they've gotten that big payday they've worked so hard for earlier in their career to earn and then proceed to shut themselves down over every little boo-boo and play more conservatively to prevent injuries.

(Not sure this really applies to Andruw, he just sucked. I think he tried not to suck but it was more mental than physical after a while. In '08 this wasn't true of Schmidt although it was another wasted season. Kent and Nomar spent stretches on the DL but it was more out of age and prior injuries, not being a prima donna).

This belief is not true (not so sure now) although my mind goes there when my team performs badly (but not when the team is on a roll). I guess because it's more convenient than to face the reality that certain players don't perform to their level or the team as a unit seems not to perform well together despite the talent level and price tag of the team assembled (I think this is true still).

Much easier to believe than the theory that no matter how well a team is constructed and how big of a budget your favorite team happens to have to spend, there are just too many variables and too many ways to get hurt in baseball for any particular team to be a sure thing, for any player, much less players, to all be consistent enough at the same time for a fan to ever be happy. I think fans, like the players, must deal with the uncertainties in the game in similar ways. One is to be persistently optimistic in the face of losing streaks and somewhat stoic when the team just keeps winning ball games. The season is a marathon and try not to get too high or too low attitude many ballplayers have. The other way is to demand the impossible from yourself and your teammates. Your team should always win and anything less than that shouldn't be tolerated, blame for the problem should be identified, and corrected as soon as possible.

I guess there might even be an in-between way to deal with this (this idea never panned out into a comprehensible middle ground).

Let's look at that winning Marlins roster. The pitching staff is anchored by 34 year old Mark Hendrickson, former dodger pitching scapegoat. The outfield sports former scapegoat Luis Gonzalez. The team just traded away one of their best young hitters in Miguel Cabrerra for prospects (they also seemed to do pretty well for themselves by trading away the D-Train before he exploded). Despite trading away the young core of their club and signing an over the hill left fielder to be their starter, they're above .500. Who knew? (Who shoulda knew this team couldn't keep it together?)

(Funny, looking back now that totally didn't last)

The Rays, also above .500 are more true to the team via farm system approach. They traded away a bunch of outfielders only to have the they thought was one of the keepers only to have him go to the DL because of a freak dna disorder. They sport a bunch of pitchers that wouldn't crack the dodgers rotation. They chose to go with a "proven" closer in the 38 year old Percival instead of sticking any one of the number of arms they have with the responsibility.

(Not so surprising, the Rays were for real)

But what if these teams don't continue to play above .500? Can you just then give these teams the same old excuse that they have to trade away their talent due to budget restraints and have no chance against the big budget teams? But when big market teams lose it's because they gamble starting jobs and lots of money at a free agents who inevitably fail to perform adequately and tie up the budget so the team cannot get the "better bet" free agents, a.k.a the free agent gambles that end up paying off on other teams. Do you keep the players hungry by not locking them up even though it's more expensive to do so? Do you lock them up and then deal them for extra return on your extra players?

(I still don't know, but I'll keep paying attention to how the Rays do/have done things).

Dodgers Decline Penny's Option

2008-11-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

So I guess his arm really is toast. They bought him out for 2 million. In a league where really crappy pitchers earn a lot of money, you'd figure Brad Penny would be worth 9 million bucks for 2009. Well, the move frees up money to go after C.C. and that Junichi Tazawa guy only to lose out to the Yankees. I predicted they'd pick up the option and trade him but I guess the dodgers didn't see that working out either (maybe his arm is that bad that other teams would balk once they saw medical reports). Penny will be a type B free agent when he files for free agency so the dodgers would get a sandwich pick for him signing elsewhere without having to worry about offering him arbitration.

Wonder what's going on with Peavy? I think I read that he has added more teams he would be willing to be traded to, but when I read it it really wasn't that at all. Padres need to drum up the market and need more teams (or the illusion of it) to do that. I would kind of worry about the angels except that their payroll is already kind of huge.

Not going to follow Manny contract stuff because with Boras, it's going to last until mid-late offseason. I have no desire to go insane a la Dice-K watch and A-Rod's telenovela when he shook down the yankees for additional money.

Back to the Offseason Doings of the Dodgers

2008-10-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

The biggest potential story floating around is the public hawking of pitcher Jake Peavy to the league. They say they want pitching. Check. They say they want middle infielders. double check. Would Peavy accept a trade to L.A.? Triple check. The dodgers have a bunch of middle infield prospects. There's Chin-Lung Hu. There's Tony Abreu. There's Blake DeWitt. There's Ivan DeJesus Jr.. There are some even younger players that are more projects like Don Mattingley's son, Preston.

But the padres also want pitching. Maybe the dodgers sell the padres on Broxton as an excuse to not pay Trevor Hoffman, which would cause the dodgers to come off slightly cheaper. One infielder and a reliever do not a Jake Peavy trade make, however. I think the dodgers would have to balk at Kershaw and Billingsley. Anyone else they have to consider. They'd probably like Elbert. I think they would really like McDonald because of his control type pitching. If they want even younger pitching that's a year or so away the dodgers have Bryan Morris still. The dodgers let so many good young pitchers go. It's a shame. I really liked Hanrahan but the nationals picked him up as a minor league free agent. The dodgers need to be a bit more aggresive in promoting pitching prospects so that pitchers aren't defecting because they feel the dodgers will never give them a chance on the big club.

I'd be very curious to see the padres scouting report on Hong-Chi Kuo. He doesn't count as young pitching, but the padres are the type of team that would take him and put him right into the starting rotation and ride him out. He's off and on as a starter (like any other starter) but he was mostly dominant as a reliever. He's still cheap, but not under control for as long as the pads probably would like. Still, he's ready to pitch now and with the team exploding, he's a good stopgap type of pitcher to have. Maybe they'd take him, but that still wouldn't be enough.

There's a few wildcards that may come into the mix. Padres still need a center fielder. They may take Pierre for two years as long as he's paid for, lowering the amount of prospects they net. Pierre isn't the type of guy the padres would like, but when you're blowing up the team, you just want a cheap, warm body that plays everyday. Pierre meets those requirements. Brad Penny might also be someone they could take on to keep fans happy as long as the dodgers pay most of his salary. I think they'd take Penny before Pierre. Penny at least has name recognition and the team line could be that the padres got a good starting pitcher plus 2 more pitching prospects and a new shortstop all in one fell swoop. Blow up team while still seeming to improve team.

My head is spinning with all the possibilities. I really don't know what will happen. Probably somebody I didn't take seriously enough to mention gets dealt. I'll scratch my head and stuff and then a few minutes later kinda sorta figure it out. I'm pretty sure about one thing though. Padres won't trade him to the braves. The braves aren't going to trade Jurjens. Peavy doesn't help the braves enough in the short term to make them a winner. The braves don't have enough good infielders to be trading them away.

Puck wasn't sure last night if she could cheer when Aybar hit that homer. She loved him as a 51 when he was in Vegas, before all of his personal problems began.

Doh :/

2008-10-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

I didn't think it would go down like that. I really thought their momentum would pull them through. I believed enough that I made light of the rays needing a chance to go to their first world series as a franchise. Garza was on. So was Lester. It was just a game of the fewest mistake pitches capitalized on by the other team.

Bud Selig cannot be happy with this matchup from a ratings standpoint.

Sorry, Biz

Imagining Chris Rock Joking About the Sox Rays Series

2008-10-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Don't the red sox have enough rings already? Can't ya let the Rays get a little taste, just a little lick at their first world series win!? If the yankees are about to go through their 5-10 year sucky streak because their guys are just too damn old now; You've got Jeter--he old! You've got caveman Johnny Damon--he old! They had Roger Clemens just last year--He was pitching when Reagan was in office--He old! And a damned liar! The yankees are done for awhile. It's like when Tyson retired. You know his ass is going to come back someday, but you gotta entertain yourself in the meantime until he can get his act together enough to challenge you again.

If anything you're going to need to lose just to make the rivalry a little dramatic, right? You gotta trade a few guys down there to add some flavor to the new rival in the AL east, right? Maybe they'll sign Derek Lowe or something to make it interesting. At the very least you can give 'em some Coco! You don't need him!

I'm still rooting for the sox. But if the yankees are really done as an organization for 5 years or so, nothing would get red sox nation into overdrive then to lose in 7 to the rays. Heads would roll. It just underscores that the real world series happens in the ALCS rather than the actual world series title...and that the division is a lot less exciting when the yankees are down and out.

Go Sox

I Left Them For Bed in the 7'th

2008-10-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

I thought they were done. I left them for dead. I went to bed on them assured their season was done just like my team. Boy, was I wrong! The red sox scored a ton of runs, it hurts me to say that the J.D. Drew's stoic ass was clutch. Rays need to watch out now. The red sox may still end up losing, but at least they showed some fight.

What I'll Remember Most About the End of the Season

2008-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

is Jeff Kent striking out looking and arguing about it. If it was anyone else they'd have been tossed. It just exemplifies the kind of guy he is. He struck out twice. He struck out in a key situation with two runners on. He struck out looking. He had the situation in front of him that he always talks about, but he didn't produce. In the past Kent always had someone to blame for the team's failures, and it was never himself. It was younger players, or it was Milton Bradley, but never Kent. Now with failure seen right in the catcher's mitt we see the real Jeff Kent. Instead of professionally walking back to the dugout to beat himself up about it, he gave the ump an earful and threw down some equipment. If that's not ugly enough, come to find out in the paper that he just ditched the team once he found he was taken out of the game in a double switch. The game he talks versus what he does when things get hard is why I loathe Jeff Kent as a ball player. He's probably an o.k. guy, but that's not why I watch and follow the dodgers. It's the end of an era, the Jeff Kent era. I'm glad they won, but I'm also glad that's over.

Go Sox!

I'm Sure We're Both In Disbelief

2008-10-14T07:48:00.001-07:00

Your team lost. My team lost. Our teams both lost at home. Your team is now a bit bad off. My team's fate balances upon the edge of a blade, stray but a little and it will fail. At least you had the sweet mercy of not even getting to believe for a moment your team really had a chance. My team let the lead slip two times by bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bullpen usage...

Home runs given up by relievers killed us. I was queasy when Torre brought in Cory Wade. I commented to Puck that, 'he's worked the last three games in mostly multiple innings...he's getting the Scott Proctor treatment and he's not going to be effective'.

Looks to be a rays phillies world series. How ugly does that sound?

I Was Afraid

2008-10-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

So afraid that I had the game recording and watched something else for fear of a horrific start which would mean a crushing end of any hopes the dodgers will advance. Thankfully that fear was avoided. Once Puck was back for about a half hour or so from a shopping run (sweaters and some new boots for our Thanksgiving trip) and settled in on the couch and ate our dinner did I dare turn on the game. We both let out a huge sigh of relief upon seeing the score. Puck and I kinda cheered. I think Puck exclaimed, "Thank God!" (imagine you're beginning to tell a Bill anecdote to tell Puck, and she lets out that groan because she knows where it's going? Yeah, that kind of 'thank God!'). We rewound to see the big inning we missed.

Not going to make any attempt at a transition into saying Russell Martin may be the most competitive position player in the league. He gets this really intense look on his face. It's priceless. Tried to find a video clip but to no avail. But that face was out in full bloom after getting hit the first time. It showed itself later in the game again after he stole second after getting hit the second time.

Now some general observations of the game. The phillies messed up with the brushbacks and the first beaning. It just pumped up the dodgers. Manny got a bit too pumped up and had to be restrained so that he didn't do something dumb. Jamie Moyer got way too much help from the umpires in balls being called strikes. He would've been in much more trouble if half of the questionable strikes had went the right way for the dodgers. That would be a bad last outing for Moyer if he calls it a career. Kuroda's 2-seam fastball inside on left handed hitters was really on. Cory Wade didn't self destruct after going back out for his second inning of relief. That helped a lot. Maybe that solo homer that Furcal hit gets him on a bit of a streak and boosts his confidence at the plate.

Back to my main man, Martin. There was also a dugout shot of him slamming down a helmet but not in the vain, roid rage type way you usually see. It's a positive, intense, 'I want to win' type of vibe, but I'm biased. The downside is that it causes him to press too much sometimes in his approach at the plate. I have another description for it but it's way too rude to post here, but I think it's very accurate. Suffice it to say, Russell Martin in key situations is extremely focused and is extremely in the moment. I'm laughing at the previous sentence because I'm using the same words one would use to discuss Jedis from Star Wars. It's not just on offense, either. Just watch him play third base and his enthusiasm for the game just jump out at you. It's an infectious, (repeating myself again) intense energy that I haven't seen in a ballplayer since Gagne maybe?

Pitching Left The Stadium

2008-10-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch the whole game it was so bad. The dodgers scored that run in the first and I thought things were going to be o.k. Boy was I wrong. Phillies relatives' are dying and the dodgers can't beat them (that's a knock on the dodgers and not any kind of statement to take anything away from or disparage the phils). Charlie Manuel, a former dodger, had his mom pass (when I read that a day or two ago i thought 'geez his mom is still alive? Manuel looks like a dinosaur himself) away just a few days ago and now they let Shane Victorino know his grandmother died after the game and he's all gung-ho that he'll keep focused on baseball and stay with the team. The dodgers really seem overmatched right now, but this is just a replay of the regular season against them. That's the only consolation I can really get out of this is that the dodgers kill them in L.A. The dodgers put a good bit of runs up on the board, so they didn't just pack it in. The dodgers can't just win in L.A. to pull this series out, though. They've got to be able to win in Philadelphia, and I'm pretty skeptical (more stuff about the red sox later)now that it will happen.

I'm so mad I bet on the dodgers hehe.

I watched that play in the sox rays game where Crawford didn't quite get that line drive hit at him that scored a run and left a guy at third ready to get knocked in. I felt pretty sure after that play the sox had that game wrapped up. It just looked like such a key event, and if I were on the rays, pretty demoralizing. Apparently, I did see the last scoring in the game there. I didn't figure that would be the case. Apparently the rays kept trying to knock at the door but Dice-Man kept them from opening it completely. I should've watched the entire game.

Torre Channels Grady Little

2008-10-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Dodgers lose 3-2. Lowe gives up a 2 run homer in the 6'th. Visit to the mound. Lowe stays in and gives up another homer to Burell. Can't fault the defense or anything. Can't fault the dodgers' at-bats all that much either. I yelled a few epithets on strikeout swings.

On the brighter side, we knew coming in that the dodgers got swept here and that one out of two in Philly would be considered a good way to bring the series back to L.A.

I bet on the dodgers. It was at a local casino (Fiesta). Some guy walking in front of me up to the sportsbook farted and then kinda changed direction while subtly looking behind himself a tiny bit embarrassed that he didn't realize someone was behind him. It smelled so bad, and I am the kind of guy that knows a bit about that sort of thing. He should probably get himself checked out. I then got the first degree from the --I don't know what you call the bet takers-- even after I prefaced things with, "I'm not a big better so go easy on me, please." So he was mildly a jerk and I was profusely apologetic for not knowing how to order my two little bets. I made sure to wait until I was the only guy there (well, people really went in front of me, but I just didn't say anything so then I just kinda hung around until there was nobody else to cut in front of me) at the sportsbook before I bet just because I myself wouldn't want to stand behind a douche who took 10 minutes to make his bets because he didn't know what the heck he was doing. Anyways, $20 for the dodgers to win the world series, $40 for them to win the series against the phillies. I think I may have jinxed them.

Want me to put some money on the sox for you, Bizut? I didn't look up the odds, I'm assuming it's not that big of a payout as the rays aren't probably favored to win over the sox.

Saito Out for the Series

2008-10-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wow. This is kinda crazy. Saito won't pitch until maybe the world series. This is kinda heavy. I predicted that Kuo's addition to the roster would mean Troncoso would be axed, but I was wrong. I have to guess that Saito's arm must really be hurting. This event probably increases the chance that Saito will retire after this season. He's a great reliever and he had an almost dominant run in his three seasons in LA. Hope for the best for him.

More Baseball Please!

2008-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

I need more baseball. The news sucks badly. The economy sucks. The politicians suck. There isn't even much news to read regarding the dodgers except this fluff piece on Don Mattingly. I don't agree with it at all. He was the hitting coach before Manny and after Manny. Manny got the team hitting by relieving some of the pressure to produce from the rest of the lineup, not because Don Mattingly is a great hitting coach, which I have no real way of knowing, but the premise of the article is kind of ridiculous. Added to that Mark freaking Sweeney is talking about how hard work translates into better performance. If he's already working hard, I can't imagine what it would take to turn Sweeney into anything near MLB level production. Anyways, Mattingly doesn't take credit and I'm not mad at him. I'm barely mad at the journalist because there's not much to write about right now.

Hurry up and give us some ball!

Quick Hits Before the Phillies

2008-10-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Kuo is back on the roster, but no hint as to who leaves. My guess would be Ramon Troncoso. Kershaw could start, presumably after Kuroda. Manny's agent says he wants 5 years and lots of cash. Good luck with that. How did this team win the world series? Manny's teammates still like Manny, but at the same time he also really likes lots of money. The dodgers have two closers in Saito and Broxton and Torre won't officially name one as 'the guy'. I think that's smart. There's also a pretty good piece on Manny that tries to go behind the scenes (go to page 2). Guess Manny wants a dodgers red sox world series.

Sox Win In Style...Angels Beat Themselves

2008-10-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

It was a smart-guy type of a play called by Scioscia. Instead of beating the sox with one out and a guy on third, they erased their runner on third and ended up with 2 outs and nobody on...doh. It was completely unnecessary for the situation. Sac fly and the rbi was all that was needed there. The angels didn't need to get pretty. The decision was vain. So much so I imagined Scioscia calling the play with the arrogant assumption that the squeeze play will make him look like "the man" as I watched with excitement as what's his name tried to run back to third in time before Varitek tagged him and after what seemed like only a second or two, had the ball fly out of his glove. I'm not sure about the umping on that call, but if the angels had played well, it wouldn't have gotten here. Yes, I'm looking at you, Erik Aybar. His defense was terrible. In my mind if there was a loser of the game named it would be Aybar. He just botched too many plays that should have been made and it directly led to at least 2 of the runs Boston put up on the board. It wasn't a pretty win for Boston, but I'm more than sure they'll take it.

Oh Wow

2008-10-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Torrii Hunter just tied up the game. Sox will still win I figure, but wow are they making it dramatic.

Almost to the Next Round

2008-10-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

It was kind of a matter of time, but time seems to have run out for the angels. Time shortened mainly by Erik Aybar's defense, which tonight was as loose (insert funny metaphor here). It's the 8'th inning and Okajima is gone and there's guys at second and third with Masterson on the mound. Anyways, the red sox will finish them off and will be seeing the rays in a few days. Good job, sox.

Oh Yeah the Dodgers Play

2008-10-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

But there's no date yet. Hopefully by Wednesday there will be a game. I am not going to try to think about the matchup like I did with the cubs. I was a bit scared of the cubs since they had some great hitters who should've pounded the dodgers, but didn't. Phillies are the same way.

The splits of both teams are pretty much as described before. Dodgers own phillies at dodger stadium while the phillies own the dodgers at citizen's or whatever flunky corporate name their ballpark has. I think I'd give the phillies an edge on their bullpen. the phillies' Bret Myers looked great his last outing. They might move him in front of Moyer, who sucked. Moyer hasn't been seen in L.A. this year and for good reason. He posts his highest e.r.a. by ballpark there and by opponent L.A. has historically hit him hard. Don't know if that's going to translate to this team as they've got key guys that are left handed in Loney, Ethier, and DeWitt.

Whoever wins is whomever beats the other team first at their house.

Angels Deserved to Lose

2008-10-06T06:44:00.001-07:00

I thought that to myself in the present tense around the 3'rd inning when Beckett was standing on the mound with the bases loaded and they let him off the hook. I'm both happy and peeved that they won. I'm happy because it draws out the series and perhaps wears down Boston just a little bit more for the Rays (I think I've lost hope on the white sox despite them winning yesterday). I'm peeved because the universal laws of fairness dictated that the angels shouldn't have been allowed to cheaply win that game the way they ended up doing. If those laws dictate the red sox sweep the angels and advance, I'm all down for that. Most of the time though, baseball is as fair as life and you're just left as a fan to live with it.

An Exercise in Excessive Presumptuousness

2008-10-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

As presumptuous as it is to assume the dodgers might get past the next round and on to the world series, I will. I'm going to assume they win against the phillies.
But I can't say I'm looking forward to a red sox dodgers world series. 'Why?' you ask, Bizut? Because the sox freakin' scayuh me!If I had to list the teams the dodgers have the best chance against in the world series in decreasing odds it would be the other sox, the angels, the rays, and then the red sox. Sure it would be dramatic and interesting of course. Most dramatic will be Manny facing the red sox. A baby step down in the dramatic level would be Torre vs. Francona except Torre is managing some team in white and blue instead of white and black pinstripes. The only other thing that will be familiar will be the opposing team has a few red sox traitors on it besides Manny (Lowe, Nomar, and Mueller's in the front office). Besides that it's a total gray area. The dodgers have never faced the red sox in the post season evuh. I hope it doesn't go down like that, forgive me, in-law. You've had 2 world series championships in the last 5 seasons. All I've got is Gibson's homer and a bunch of first round sweeps of my team to go on here. I can still root for them to finish off the angels, since it seems rather inevitable now. But the gloves are off once the sox advance!

Torre! Wave to the Bronx!

2008-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Picture it. Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre talking baseball in the dodgers' dugout during a playoff game. The October scoreboard has no games with the yankees on it for the first time in 14 or 15 years. Who would have thought that this scene possible 4 years ago?

I don't appreciate this as much as a sox or yanks fan would, but even I can recognize more than a bit irony that after getting low-balled out of town Joe Torre brings a young team (replace the '04 yanks Pettitte, Posada, and Jeter with '08 dodgers Billingsley, Martin, Kemp, and Ethier) to the playoffs. It's even more of a tribute to Torre because no one can say now that he can't win without superstar teams (the rap Phil Jackson of the NBA's lakers still has on him). The dodgers didn't have a superstar player until the trade deadline. Ramirez has been quite the difference maker, but compared to the ridiculously expensive free agent teams Torre managed this team is weak.

The yanks sitting at home with Girardi at their helm kind of exemplifies the demolition Cashman has decided to go with. I think he started off wrong with axing his manager. I guess now he may understand that Torre maybe wasn't so overpaid. The Yankees I think are trying to rebuild while riding out the guys they have to ride out like Jeter, A-Rod, Rivera, Mussina and others. Despite this, the yankees still have a ton of talent on their club.

I remember when the whole Torre drama first erupted. The way the story was interpreted was that Torre felt disrespected so he was willing to go to another team who was paying him even less because at least that team wanted him. It continues that given the dodgers crappy team, Torre would manage a few years while grooming his successor without much hopes of going to the playoffs as much as showing a bunch of young players 'how to win' or 'what it takes to win' or whatever other baseballisms you want to attach to what Torre's job was supposed to be. It wasn't expected he'd win ball games.

They didn't even bother to mention Torre in the farewell event to the old stadium. It just drives home the point that Torre at least has class, while the yankees have started to show a lack of it. The silver lining is that a yanks organization in a bit of disarray can only be a good thing for Boston. Life's a lot better when you only have to worry about catching rays.

Here's my impressions of Torre as manager. He seems very diplomatic, at least with the media. He's not very temperamental. He doesn't talk much. He doesn't call a lot of plays. He walks funny. He plays favorites (Scott Proctor), but only to a point. His bullpen usage is kind of strange at times. Torre has gotten more right than he has wrong. I think he helps most in the clubhouse by not letting some of the veteran players all act like managers and browbeating the young players.

1-2

2008-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

One more win to get to the second round.

I really can't remember the dodgers ever sweeping a team in the playoffs. Turns out (thank you baseball-reference.com) they haven't in at least 20 years. In fact, you have to go back to 1963 when the dodgers beat the yankees in four straight to win the world series. 45 years is a long time. So chances are cubs take one before it's all over. I don't want the dodgers too cocky when they face the phillies. Maybe a little humble pie does them some good before the next round (yeah I'm being a bit presumptuous). I don't like the prospect of having to face Cole Hamels (I like Hole Camels better), but every team that makes it to the postseason usually has at least one semi-dominant pitcher. Could be worse in that we'd have to face C.C. Phillies series could be a total crap shoot because the dodgers have murdered the phillies at home but murdered in Philadelphia to touch off an 8 game losing streak in August.

Win Numero Uno

2008-10-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

'Bums win! There wasn't much drama to this game. Lowe was Lowe, except he didn't pitch as well. The dodgers didn't cash in on most of their opportunities, leaving the bases loaded in the second inning. They can't continue to win if they continue to do that junk. It was entertaining to watch Maddux pitch the 9'th.

I'm hoping the Red Sox beat the Angels. I told my brother that today and told him my quickly made up reason. My reasoning is that the angels have had it too easy and have played the last month of the season like they'd already won it all. The red sox look pretty hungry. You have to stay hungry when the yankees are in your division. So anyways now the red sox are up on the television and I won't be dropping so many f bombs.

And it begins with a double by Ellsbury. What is it with the red sox being on television and Ellsbury getting extra base hits?

Enjoy.

I'm Scared of a Sweep

2008-09-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

The cubs are good. When you have Alf, Aramis Ramirez and Derek Lee in the same lineup, your team should score a bunch of runs, especially at Wrigley Field. What makes me less scared of them has been how little they've won with these guys. This club is two seasons removed from a team that only won 66 games. Yeah, they didn't have Soriano in '06. They also now have Harden. They have Fukudome. Geovany Soto has emerged as a great catcher. I don't know which of the acquisitions changed the tide for the cubs but it does appear they are great right now.

The dodgers are better. O.K., stop laughing. They don't hit the dodgers, sporting the lowest batting average against them of .238...dodgers only hit .235 off the cubs, doh! The cubs pitchers have a 2.47 era against L.A. The dodgers hold a 2.49 era over the cubs. Wow, this is a pretty evenly matched series. It shouldn't given Chicago's lineup versus the dodgers lineup. It shouldn't given the names on the dodgers' pitching staff vs. Zambrano and company. It's going to come down to who wants it more. In that department, I like the dodgers' chances. Smells like '88 all over again.

Or the dodgers get swept and everyone looks at the lineups, shrugs, and says this is what was bound to happen when the weak dodgers hobble in as playoff contenders when in any other division they'd be 4'th place teams that would have been eliminated from the hunt a month ago. Sometimes when expectations are low, it's a hell of a lot easier to deliver. The cubs are expected to win, there's a lot more pressure on them to make it 'the year' given they're the team that hasn't won a world series in the longest.

Where are you, Brad Penny?

looking past the playoffs...

2008-09-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

Current 40 Man Roster

Pitcher/ Year of Birth/Prediction

Mario Alvarez '84
Don't see him on the '09 team based on his minor league numbers. Probably loses 40 man roster spot.

Joe Beimel '77
He'll be a free agent and is probably gone. I hope the dodgers keep him, but with all the young arms they may choose to let someone else pay him bigger bucks. He'll probably get 3-4 million a year for 2-3 years. One of my better half's favorite players. Always looks drunk or hung over. The guy looks more ill than I do.

Chad Billingsley '84
Starting Rotation.

Brazoban '80
Probably traded. Might make team in Pen. More likely to be trade bait if he fails to impresses in spring.

Broxton '84
Set up man or Closer. Depends partly on Saito, and whether dodgers trade/sign a FA closer

Scott Elbert '85
AAA bound. Looked alright as a lefty reliever. Outside chance of winning a bullpen slot if he's dominant in spring training.

Jason Johnson '73
Gone as a free agent. The dodgers won't want him at the new price he earned.

Kershaw '88
Starting Rotation. Think he's proven enough to the dodgers that he'd have to play his way back to AAA.

Kuo '81
Traded. If not he at least makes bullpen as a swingman/set up man. Could be in rotation if he impresses. Injury problems may cause dodgers to cut the cord with him.

Kuroda '75
Starting Rotation.

Lowe '73
Boras Client. Wants to test free agency. He's gone. Don't know where, probably the Tigers, but he won't be back. Best of luck to Lowe. He got crappy run support in L.A.

Maddux '23 B.C.
He's going to retire. Maybe he signs on as a coach.

McDonald '84
May make rotation if he impresses out of spring training. He'll definitely make the big club.

Miller '84
God only knows. 3A numbers not good. Walk rate not going down. Probably trade bait. Might get released.

Orenduff '83
Struggled at 3A. On the Heath Totten career path right now.Shouldn't be on 40 man.

Park '73
Departs as a free agent. He's had a great year. He's pitching like he did before his back was ruined in Texas. He's going to want to sign a deal with a team that will pencil him in as a 5'th starter. That almost certainly rules out the dodgers.

Penny '77
Option declined and leaves as a free agent. Sticky situation. They should pick up his option if only to trade him to a team willing to take a risk that he's healthy. Don't know if management is going to take that risk that there will be a taker for him. This will probably come back to haunt them.

Proctor '77
Torre used to love this guy so it's hard to say he won't be back even though he's a free agent. I'm still leaning towards gone since his season went from 'suck' to 'hurt' back to 'suck'. Torre isn't really using him in any kind of leverage situations so maybe he has finally lost favor with Torre.

Saito '70
Retirement. Still closer quality pitcher if healthy. Is under control but will retire due to his arm being shredded.

Schmidt '73
I'll predict a Darren Dreifort type of a season for him. Not a factor except for financially.

Stults '79
Swingman type roll out of the pen.

Troncoso '83
Garbage innings guy next year. When Torre has given up, you'll see Troncoso pitching.

Wade '83
Middle relief role up to 7'th inning guy type upside if he impresses.

Starting Pitcher free agents of note: A.J. Burnett, Ryan Dempster, Jon Garland, Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Brad Penny, Oliver Perez, Horacio Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf (Penny, Perez, Ho-Ram, and Sabathia would be the guys I'd want, Penny only at his option price or less. Ramirez will probably sell himself as a starter)

Relief Pitcher free agents of note: Joe Beimel, Juan Cruz, Scott Downs, Brian Fuentes, Aaron Fultz, Bobby Howry, Brandon Lyon, Damaso Marte (no way even the Yanks pick up a 6mil option on him), Will Ohman, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez Brian Shouse, Rafael Soriano, ,Horacio Ramirez--i left farnsworth off purposely, i think he's done and even torre won't ask for him to be given a chance--

Catchers

Danny Ardoin '74
Leaves via free agency. He's a back up catcher. Dodgers didn't figure to use him, but Bennett's inability to get the ball back to the pitcher caused the dodgers to dip down and bring him up. Maybe he'll get a better deal from some other team short on catching.

Gary Bennett '72
Dodgers decline his '09 option and he leaves a big loser than when he was signed. His career is probably over.

A.J. Ellis '81
AAA backup or sniffs the big club as Martin's backup. He's Canadian and there were articles on how he's not the most talented guy in the world but is a hard worker and very positive personality to have around.

Martin '83
Starting catcher. Should slap a "C" on his uniform, but they probably won't.

May '84
Probably spends entire season at Vegas. Seems like a Dave Ross mold type catcher.

Possible free agent addition: Dave Ross, Gregg Zaun, Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Javier Valentin, Vance Wilson, Johnny Estrada (lots of good backup catchers who can throw the ball back to the pitcher adequately available)

Infield

Abreu "84
Probably traded. The organization seems not to like him very much and he's always injured. His talent and the dodgers need and love for middle infielders may cause the dodgers to keep him.

Berroa '76
Leaves via free agency. Has become a Torre favorite, but I doubt a 5.5 million dollar favorite, which is what his '09 option costs. He's showed flashes of what made him a rookie of the year

Casey Blake '73
Gone via free agency. He's old, but will command a contract for three years or more at least at 8 million per year. There aren't really any great free agent options, so he's one of the top three free agent third basemen. Third base is a problem for the dodgers, but I don't think the organization sees him as the answer.

DeWitt '85
He's in. Torre loves this guy. Should be starting at third or second baseman next year depending on how the dodgers handle the offseason. I like him at second, but maybe it's too much to ask of him defensively.

Nomar '75
Re-signs with the dodgers. He's not going to have that many offers given his injuries. He's also just started a family. His wife also needs to work in the market he's already employed in. 5-6 million is plenty for a guy that can hardly stay healthy but is a 'name' utility guy. I doubt he leaves.

Hu '84
Starting or Backup MLB shortstop. His injury hampered his progress. His future depends on Furcal's ability to land an extension or work out a new deal with the dodgers. I think if that was going to happen it would have by now. I think Furby is out. Therefore I think Hu is in.

Kent '68
Retirement. I think he's done despite the knee surgery and 6 week comeback from it. He's just going downhill so fast and so brittle nowadays.

Loney '84
He'll be tarting at first. The only guy that is a lock for an infield position besides Martin. His numbers are down, though.

Ozuna '74
Dodgers may pick up his option to be the new Pedro Martinez given lack of infield depth.

Sweeney '69
Leaves via free agency. Torre is talking about possibly not carrying Kent on the postseason roster while this bum continually fails to produce? His career is probably over.

Possible free agent additions: Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, Edgar Renteria, Orlando Cabrera. I wouldn't mind re-signing Furcal or getting Hudson. I think the dodgers should take a longer look at Hu though. Seems most convenient to move DeWitt back to third rather than attempting to trade for a third baseman.

Outfield

Ethier '82
Should be starting in left or right. Has finally played his way into dodgers plans.

Jones '77
Traded during winter meetings. Awkward situation. One of those things that just didn't work out. Might get one of those 'needs a change of scenery' labels slapped on him.

Kemp '84
Starting center or right fielder. Depends on Andruw Jones.

Paul '85
Starts season at AAA. Mirrored Jason Repko's production while 4 years younger. A good spring could win him a 4'th or 5'th outfield job.

Pierre '77
Traded. Reduced role in '08 may oblige dodgers to pay his way out.

Manny '72
Leaves via free agency. I think more money will be there for him elsewhere. I think he likes L.A., but there's other places to go where there's enough celebrities that no one is stalking Manny like what supposedly happened in Boston. He'll get a 60mil/3years despite his age because he's such a great hitter. Being a DH is probably better for him.

Repko '80
Probably gets the Jayson Werth treatment if he gets injured again. Otherwise he's insurance.

Young '82
Traded. I think he's lost the interest of the organization due to his defense. Torre seems to not like him. He hasn't done well as a situational hitter either. To be fair he hasn't gotten much of a chance. The dodgers have better options in Repko and Paul.

Possible free agent additions: Manny, Rocco, Burrell, Dunn, (Something would have to be done with Pierre and/or Jones first). Baldelli, Manny, Burrell and Dunn should all get lots of interest from a lot of teams. The dodgers need to grab one of these guys. After landing one they need to get rid of Pierre and Jones to the losers that failed to get a free agent outfielder (Bradley is also available but not likely an option to come back to the dodgers for many reasons).

That cuts down the current 40 man roster down to 26. That leaves room for 14 additions. That's a lot of turn over, so I'm probably overdoing the people leaving via free agency. There's probably some of the kids that need those roster spots so they're protected from the rule 5 draft.

1

2008-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

The light at the end of the tunnel is just about blinding me as the dodgers cut their magic number to 1 with 4 games left on the schedule for the blue and the 'backs. Arizona would have to win every single one of their games. Boston has already clinched their wild card spot. But us west coasters don't get the luxury of annually contending sports teams.

Thank goodness for Manny. I realized after his homer last night that I was spoiled since I was expecting him to drive in runs when the dodgers were down by two runs. This was something unbelievable to think of before the trade. Once the dodgers were down, the remaining innings were just watching futilely play out the rest of the game. Pitching well. Fielding well. Making outs well.

Even if the dodgers get swept in the first round I'll still remember the season as one which went from nail biting, frustrating baseball to moderately fun to watch baseball (post 7-8 game losing streak that almost broke me).

Another Easy Win

2008-09-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Juan Pierre Homered!!!

I never expected I'd be able to type that. Sadly, the diamondbacks didn't oblige the dodgers by losing. The dodgers could still totally crap out and miss the playoffs, but it seems pretty good that the dodgers could be in. The good Kuroda came to pitch today.

How Prepared are those Sox?

2008-09-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

Who they miss? Crust Schilling, the not-so-showing-his-age Jason Varitek, the Ellsbury that gets on base

Who they don't miss? Julio-can't-field-his-position-while-not-hitting-Lugo, Manny being Manny, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen.

Who'd have thought Paul Byrd would be average? More surprisingly, Bartolo Colon is kinda pitching alright...(knock on wood). Who'd have thought Buchholz would forget how to pitch. He'll be back, though. That guy is too talented to go all Rick Ankiel. Time to admit Timlin is kinda done?

The Sox are plenty ready. I think a post-season sans Yankees has got to be a huge emotional boost for the players and the fans. I'd be feeling good if I were a sox fan.

Dodgers have slightly better pitching, though. Especially in the bullpen department

Sorry, just had to throw that out there...

Last Night I didn't think about the game till it was over

2008-09-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

The dodgers weren't on tv in my area last night so I missed the game. We watched the movie 10 items or less with Morgan Freeman and a chick named Paz (forgot her last name) but she kinda looked like (bad with actresses names, not Selma Hyack, but the other hot Latina actress that's in a lot of movies). The movie was pretty interesting, espcially when Freeman kept stating he liked strong endings to movies. But the movie let me down and left everything you wanted to see resolved left as a loose end.I kinda recommend it as it has the curly headed kid from Superbad combined with Morgan Freeman in the same scene discussing acting, even if it doesn't last long enough. If you do watch the movie...make sure you watch the credits because a few funny things.

So anyways after the movie I totally checked out the score and the better half and I gasped that Maddux pitched well yet the dodgers lost it. Then I obsessed over Arizona's game, thankfully they lost that so we were happy. It's going to be down to the wire till the last game.

Please Keep Rolling

2008-09-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Kershaw pitched a good game. Dodgers won. The most interesting play of the game was a hard grounder hit at shortstop Angel Berroa found its way into his jersey. He hid the fact once he realized himself that he was feeling the ball through his shirt so that the guy wouldn't run all the way to second. It was frustrating at first to watch what seemed like Berroa quadruple clutching the ball and wondering why he couldn't make the throw after 4 seconds or so. Then come to see he was working on the button of his jersey to finally liberate the ball and everyone had a good laugh about it. The umpire gave both benches a warning after Baek threw a pretty good brush back pitch that was reminiscent of the stuff you see in clips of the '60's. I thought it wasn't warranted as it would have made no sense t hit Manny, and nothing further in the game transpired. The dodgers need to finish off their sweep of the padres tonight. Kuroda pitches against some guy named LeBlanc who hasn't pitched in the minor leagues. He's a lefty who strikes out a lot of guys 3/1 strikeout ratio. If this guy doesn't miss a lot of bats the dodgers are going to have a field day with him. Now onto the Red Sox...
Beckett will be back soon, the sox have a 4-ish game lead in the wild card over the twins and the white sox, the yankees suck,
so things look good for you except for today Dice-K seems to be having a bad day against the orioles...

phew

2008-09-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I was a very frustrated dodger fan for a week or so. I wasn't even sold after the first win to end the losing streak. I have to look away and occupy myself on the computer and listen to the game because I'm expecting the dodgers to blow it. Poor John Broxton had some tough luck. Kuo pitched poorly a week ago. I blame some of it on usage by Torre. That's part of the package with him. Anyways, the dodgers are loose again like when Manny was acquired. T.J. Simers at the L.A. Times attempts linkage of Kent's removal from the clubhouse. The connection probably isn't all that direct, but it makes sense that the younger players are looser. I was going to write another blog posting when the injury happened that I don't like Kent, but it was sad for him to go out like he did. I still feel that way despite the seeming dodger surge that coincidentally happened when Kent was no longer around.

Maddux Finally Back

2008-08-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

So the dodgers finally bit on the Mad Dog. According to the LA Times, the padres will get two players to be named later. I'm not as excited had this happened a few weeks ago, not sure quite why. Maddux is no longer a star pitcher, but he's a darn smart one. The whole Maddux as second pitching coach is probably overrated by me. I like the idea of Greg Maddux as the dodgers' fifth starter more than the idea of Jason Johnson. I liked the way Chan-Ho Park pitched when the dodgers allowed him to be a starter, but for whatever reason they won't let him start anymore so it's moot. I like James McDonald. His one start implosion may or may not have been a good reason to acquire or not acquire Maddux. Maybe it didn't go down that way at all. Either way, McDonald figures to be in the dodgers plans when September call ups are made and I'm more than sure that McDonald will get a chance to win a spot on the big club in spring training next year. Hopefully McDonald bounces back, Maddux pitches well and maybe teaches Kershaw a thing or two, and the PTBNL's aren't significant/are in line with the value of a month or so of a 5'th starter..

Kent Says Vin, "Talks too much"

2008-08-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

This news is a couple of days old already and I'd been meaning to post about it. Basically Vin Scully mentioned during a game that Jeff Kent's improved hitting may have a bit to do with hitting in front of Manny Ramirez. Duh! But Robin doesn't quite see it that way. "I'm 40. You don't get better when you are 40." Well you do when you're hitting before or after Manny Ramirez. Anyways it gets better, Kent has an idea about Manny's performance. "Manny was only hitting .300 in Boston with 20 home runs," Kent said, as a prelude to the sarcastic kicker. "And he's doing way better than that here -- so I'm helping Manny." Um, yeah. Right. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read that. Watch out, Jeff, your Robin costume is showing.

2008-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

So Brad Penny's injury is kind of serious, which makes me a sad panda. After a frustrating loss last night the dodgers have a semi-comfortable lead of 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth with Martin at the plate (he has his socks on high today). Thankfully, the diamondbacks lost, so a win this afternoon will put them back in the tie for first place. Let's hope the dodgers hang on.

Another thing I didn't like but don't put much faith in is the story about the dodgers re-signing Casey Black just because DeWitt is playing second in the minors. There are tons of things the dodgers could do there, and giving a multi-year deal to a mediocre third baseman doesn't seem like it would high up in the dodgers offseason plans, but what do I know?

Ronnie Belliard...yawn

2008-08-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

In that same Times article, there is a report the dodgers put in a waiver claim on second baseman Ronnie Belliard, mostly to make sure the D-backs don't get him to make up for the injured O-Dog. Belliard is guaranteed $1.9 million for '09. Even if the dodgers end up taking him on he wouldn't be all that bad as a one year stop-gap insurance for the positions. He seems like a decent number eight hitter. He doesn't get on base all that great but he has a bit of power, is used to being a backup, and is hitting better this season than Berroa has. In my opinion, the dodgers may as well stick with Berroa in my opinion or bring back Pedro Martinez. There is no urgency to acquire this guy, the blocking of him going to the d-backs and him getting hot have been accomplished.And here is the rest of it. Guess I shouldn't have devoted more than 3 sentences to this.

The dodgers start a three game series against the brew crew. At least they miss having to face C.C. Sabathia. Arizona gets to face the astros, a bit of an easier matchup compared to the brewers. I hope the d-backs happen to stumble this series.

Dodgers Stay In Tie For First

2008-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Not the most imaginative title. Kuroda has kept it up since coming off the DL with 3 straight quality starts. He's only allowed 1 run a start over 22 1/3 innings. I think it's almost concrete that the money spent on him was well earned by Hiroki. Kemp got his 14'th homer and Loney got a surprising 6'th triple (tied for 6'th in the NL).

Alright, with that out of the way I can discuss the news I read that I didn't quite like this morning. In this LA Times article discussing starting pitcher Brad Penny, it reported that Penny got sent back to the DL like I kinda figured after that rough start he had. Thankfully the dodgers came back to win that one.

But, in addition, the article also speculates that the dodgers buy out the final year of his contract. Whaaat? Makes no sense. Of course Penny is having a not-so-good season, but there are far worse pitchers without Penny's upside making more than Penny right now.

The guy that just pitched last night, Brett Myers, is 3 years younger than Penny, is having a down year, and is going to make 12 million next year. Myers is a good pitcher and he has upside. He's not even really sniffed the type of success Penny has yet and already makes more than Penny.

Aaron Harang is another example. The guy is the same age as Penny, coming off a down year, and is making around 12-13 million dollars a year. John Lackey is what Penny would be pitching like if he weren't currently sucking. Lackey has an '09 team option for $9 million that will certainly be picked up because it's a steal. With the league shortage in quality starting pitchers I don't see the dodgers at the least picking up his option and dealing him if they don't like his chances of coming back next year. You aren't going to find a pitcher on the free agent market for that much of a bargain. It has way more upside than the Randy Wolf signing did, and he was coming off TJ surgery 2 seasons ago. You have to be Brett Tomko, Russ Ortiz, or Esteban Loaiza bad to not be worth $8.75 million in 2009. Last comparison, one that my brother in law will get to see on t.v., Paul freakin' Byrd, Mr. average, makes $7.5 million a year this year! Penny, despite his down year is shoulders above the quality of the caliber of pitchers I just named. There are also easier ways of dumping salary so the team can go after the big free agent fish like C.C. Sabathia than just letting Penny walk if that happens to be their strategy.

I believe I'm giving this notion of the dodgers punting Penny too much serious thought. I don't believe the dodgers will throw him away due to whatever money problems the owner may or may not have. The dodgers will just call this what it is; a down year from Penny and hope for the best next season. At worst the dodgers pick up his extension and trade him to a team willing to gamble on Penny's bouncing back to his sometimes dominant self. Not going to even attempt to name teams that would be interested, but there will definitely be lots of teams that will lose out on the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes.

Paul Byrd for Cash

2008-08-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

So the red sox get Paul Byrd for cash. My take is that the sox are getting insurance in the form of Byrd should their young pitchers (Masterson, Buchholz) continue to struggle as things get further down to the wire. Byrd definitely is no prize fowl, he's just an average-ish pitcher, but he's definitely serviceable in the back of a sox rotation decimated by injury. And not knowing the sox as well as I should, that's all I've got to say about that. Has that other sox knuckleballer pitched a game yet since being called up? If so how did he fare?

Yep

2008-08-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

I still want Penny yanked from the rotation despite the come from behind win, 7-6. Thanks Nomar!

Brad Penny's Rotation Spot

2008-08-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

So I'm gamedaying a dodger drubbing in the welcome back start of pitcher Brad Penny. Sadly it's not a happy welcome back for starter Brad Penny as he's been pounded for six runs off six hits. I'm going to express my hope that Brad Penny's rotation spot be given to either Kuo or Park, preferably Kuo. I prefer Kuo over Park for a few reasons. Kuo isn't used very effectively or often given his stats. He's got the most upside of anybody in that bullpen save Broxton or maybe Wade. Heck, call up Mcdonald for crying out loud, he's working Vegas like it owes him money. Had Penny pitched well I wouldn't be whining, but I am what I am. Even if the dodgers come from behind and win I won't change how I feel about Penny tonight. It's too late in the season to put up with people that have cobwebs on vital body parts. Nomar seemed to shake his off on his rehab assignment. I could be wrong, but I think Penny only got one rehab start.

All the talk about Chinese Gymnasts With Baby Teeth

2008-08-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't understand the article about the Chinese gymnasts. More specifically I guess is I don't understand the advantage of being 11-12 or however young people are saying these girls are that are competing in the olympics. So I'm going to work this out with stream of consciousness writing about it off the cuff.

I understand that it's cheating, but how is being younger than your competition an advantage at the highest level of the sport? The S.I. writer nebulously describes a lack of fear and mental pressure due to inexperience. My mind is unable to digest this as a legit advantage that competitors would worry about. Seems to me (despite the fact that it's breaking the rules) that it would be a disadvantage to get less experienced girls who haven't even fully matured into their frames. They're slower and probably lack a bit of strength. They are lighter though and shorter probably does confer some benefit. They probably have a bit more flexibility, or may not have to work on flexibility as much as older competition.

I'm just guessing at stuff. It would really help if a gymnast would spell it out for all of us non-gymnasts how younger girls with still developing bodies, lower strength, smaller stature for some of the apparatus, etc. overall makes youth an advantage over older competition in the Olympics.

recaps and stuff

2008-08-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't see the Beckett game last night, but it seems like the red sox might be revved up to win a few games in a row now that they're back to the top of their rotation. Who's gonna be their fifth starter with Wakefield out?

I feel kinda guilty because I had a bit of a headache so I fell asleep during the game.They were leading comfortably though and I guess I'm also a little glad I fell asleep because the ninth inning apparently was interesting. Broxton almost let the game go the route of the last two dodgers meltdown losses. It was good to see Casey Blake seem to make up for that day he booted the ball by hitting a homer. Manny was quite alright, but it was the semi-slumpers Loney and Kent that got the biggest boosts. Martin is still slumping a bit and it continues, albeit lower in the order. Seems like he needs two days off in a row and a keep it loose pep-talk with Manny. There is news that Andruw could be put on the DL because of his knee so that Nomar can be activated. I guess we'll see Torre handle shortstop like he handles second base. Nomar will play when he's healthy, will get a day or two a week off, and will be replaced in the later innings with Berroa as a defensive replacement. Dodgers have Kershaw on the mound tonight so this will probably go well for the dodgers. Forgot to mention Kemp is really coming into his own. Vin remarked that he's getting better every game. Yep, I can see it too. Seemed like he was channeling Jackie Robinson when he bothered pitcher Kyle Kendrick so badly that he got to steal second twice and ran to third on a bad throw (even though it was ball four), so that was some smart baserunning.

Dodgers, Red Sox, Both Lose Games They Should've Won

2008-08-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

Didn't get to actually watch the game because it was only on local television, so I followed it on gameday. Red Sox versus white sox I did actually get to watch since it was on fox. Buchholz really struggled against a white sox team (to me) that pretty much swings at most anything you throw slightly off the plate. Francona seemed to want the kid to lose instead of taking him out. I don't follow the sox enough to know how tired their pen is, so maybe Francona didn't have the luxury of just pulling him really early, but Boston gave back the lead and then some. Aardsema threatened to make it way worse as he seemed to have a case of the wildies when he hit Quentin and then almost hit Dye. Do they drop Buchholz from the rotation and go with someone else? I don't know but that seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea with the sox being in the hunt. It's a bad time for on the job training for the team and Buchholz. At least the red sox scored a few runs and made it a close game, which leads me to how my team fared.

The dodgers just suffered the worst loss of their season to the giants yesterday afternoon. Having arguable the worst infield defense in the major leagues came home to roost at AT&T park. Casey Blake misplayed a grounder that loaded the bases. The powerless giants then proceeded to win the game on a grounder that got by two dodger fielders and allowing the winning run. Kinda glad I couldn't watch it live now that I come to think about it. Hopefully it doesn't have a demoralizing effect. Maybe it means we see even more defensive substitutions late in games. That could mean more of a taste of Martin at third and Lucas May behind the dish once rosters expand. It fits Torre's style as he's been into replacing Kent's glove defensively for a while now.

I think they should start batting Manny third. I think this would help because of the dodgers record in games they score first and they score most of their runs in the first inning. What better way to ensure you have the best chance to score a run or runs than to make sure the bat is in Manny's hands in the first inning. Kent has no business being in the three hole. He may still have some killer/clutch instinct and may have once made a career of either protecting or being protected by other big hitters, but with a slightly slower bat, Kent just can't do that anymore. The dodgers have better hitters than Kent. One of them whom managers always seem to forget about is named 'Dre. He comes with the added bonus of hitting left handed behind the right handed Ramirez. Bat Kent fifth and let Loney get out of his slump in the 6 spot. R/L/R/L. Kemp and Martin should probably be put up in the one and two slots even though Martin seems to be showing some signs of wear. Hopefully the team figures it out and takes advantage of all their opportunities while not giving the opposing teams wins based on the failure to execute fundamental plays. Stop booting the ball!

Followed By A Bellyflop of a Splash

2008-08-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

As Ramirez homers to left-center write as I posted about his ripple effect...

The guy is playing like his video game-character in mlb '08 the show...

The dodger acquisitions of Blake and Manny are hot.

Manny's honeymoon might not end this season.

It may be up to Boras to ruin that.

One Manny Ripple Effect

2008-08-07T11:51:00.001-07:00

Since the second game after the acquisition of Manny I've been thinking how much pressure it has to be in close and late games to have to hit after Manny after he's been pitched around. It was most apparent in last night's loss when the bases were loaded in a tie game with two outs. Loney looked a bit like he wanted to vomit. I'd throw in a little deer in headlights look in there as well. He didn't come through that night and the dodgers ended up losing with Jason Johnson pitching. This new role could mean some major adjustments in Loney's game. I'm sure he's up to the task because he's still hitting well and with great consistency.

So anyways I saw Loney get that hit today after Manny walked and it jogged me to make note of this since it probably will have a little to do in how he further develops.

One More Day And Penny's Back

2008-08-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

So Brad Penny should be back in the starting rotation tomorrow and Jason Johnson pretty much is the odd man out. So what do the dodgers do? Do they keep him around for middle relief or do they sell high on him, being grateful for the above ability performance they got out of him and let some other team watch his performance go from good, to bad, then to ugly. Might be able to get a decent PTBNL from one of those teams that balked at the price of the "available" relievers at the deadline and still need a spot starter/long reliever. Just don't deal him within the division, please. And that's all I've got to say about that.

I'm Sorry Too, 'Druw

2008-08-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

The L.A. Times is hot today! In a country where we have a president that has screwed up so badly in so many ways, seems to have realized it and has "changed course" while not admitting it, it's really refreshing to hear someone say, "Sorry, I suck." That someone is Andruw Jones. I wish it hadn't taken his third homer of the season and the acquisition of Manny Ramirez to get Jones to say it. Better late than never. I wish I could replace the name of Jones with that of the president. Nah, it's probably too late for a Bush apology to have enough meaning, or enough credibility, seeing as he's mainly doing things a little differently only for purposes of his legacy. Jones still has to come back for another year if he's not traded away. Here's an excerpt from the interview Simers did:

"I wish I could start everything over," Jones says. "I apologize for the things I said about the fans; I didn't mean it the way it sounded.

"I care about playing well for Dodger fans, but now I have to be strong to overcome everything that has happened.

"It's tough mentally every time you go out there and they let you know how they feel, and you look at the scoreboard and see your batting average. I'd like to just go away for a few months, work hard and start over, but I can't do that. I need to do everything I can to still help this team."

Now for the G.W. remix:

"I wish I could start everything over," Bush says. "I apologize for the things I said about everyone who's ideology differed from Dick Cheney's; I didn't mean to call so many american people, political opponents, and foreign leaders terrorists because they didn't agree with me. I didn't mean for so many people to get killed so my friends could profit off the country blowing up buildings and then profit again from re-building them again."

"I care about making a bunch of money and politicizing every aspect of government for political gain, but now I have to be strong to make decisions to overcome all the damage to my presidential legacy."

"It's tough mentally every time you go out on a podium and a bunch of reporters ask me about my poor decisions and I have to keep reminding them that that's in the past. I'd like to get away from it all and go to my ranch in Texas or Kennebunkport for a few months, pound back beers, do a few lines, then come back and start over, but I can't do that. I need to rewrite history in every way I can to help the G.O.P."

I like 'Druw's apology better. He still probably won't perform all too well the rest of the way out, but at least he's acknowledging to us little people that yes indeed he has sucked all year.

A Marriage That Makes Sense

2008-08-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

If he wants to say here, as he says through his agent in this times column, and he's willing to sign for less than his 3 year/39 million dollar deal then I'd have to say go for it. I don't know how much of a discount he's willing to take, but it would be silly to offer more than a three year deal to a guy hampered at least somewhat for two out of three seasons of his prime. In addition, backs are the kind of thing that tend to sap speed, power, and tend to reoccur. All are red flags to Furcal's future ability to perform at an elite level. Had he been healthy, this would have been an MVP'ish type of season. Furby was on a a tear like I hadn't seen since Adrian Beltre decided to impersonate Albert Pujols that one year. Power and speed are attributes hard to find together, in abundance, in a shortstop that isn't a liability at the position (yes I'm looking at you, Jeter). Just ask the red sox who have go through shortstops like underwear. Somewhere of the neighborhood of 3/$30 with PA incentives to bring his salary up to $15 million if he ends up getting over 650 PA's a season. I would throw in up to two option years if length was an issue. By the time season 4 comes up I'd expect Furcal to have declined enough to buy him out when that time comes.

Even if his steals go down and the power goes down, he could still be a decent number two hitter given his ability to get on base. He may have to reinvent his game some due to the injuries. He may give up on some of his power stroke, which may cut his strikeout rate and boost his walks. He'd probably run less as well. I could live with all of those things as long as the defense and .obp was there. I doubt Furcal turns into a total pumpkin, but if he does the dodgers are at least prepared. Good shortstops are hard to find and Furcal is one when healthy...if he isn't, hopefully Chin Lung Hu and Ivan DeJesus Jr. are given fair opportunities to show what they can do on the big club.

Dodgers Lose First of Manny

2008-08-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Stupid pun. Last night was pretty much like Vin called it around the 7'th or 8'th inning, almost a mirror of the loss the night before. Manny played well and a great pitching performance was ruined by Chan Ho Park. He's been really good this year so it's hard to be mad at him for blowing the lead. The dodgers had other opportunities to score and squandered them, most notably Matt Kemp getting caught in the run down ironically because Manny busted his ass down the first base line so the defender turns around and guns it to the plate. Hopefully, they can avoid the sweep early and try to swing some momentum the other way. This is probably the most important series to date and the dodgers have two more games to get back within one of the snakes.

Post Trade: Where Do the Dodgers Go From Here?

2008-08-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, Manny drives in enough runs to turn a few of more of the usual low scoring games into wins, at least more wins than the diamondbacks end up with. When will those guys lose? Hopefully tonight, because last night's loss was pretty tough. So, with that said, it's onto some notes I scrawled down position by position before the whole trade for Manny thing happened.
Catcher
Russell Martin is a mural on the left field side of dodger stadium. He'll be here a while. As for his backup, I'd prefer either Dave Ross or Gregg Zaun. If neither of those guys are on board with only playing 50 games or so, then it really doesn't matter to me as long as it's not paying the cheater that can't throw the ball back to the pitcher, Gary Bennett, any more money he doesn't deserve. That was kinda harsh, but it's deserved. Last season I let his signing slide with a what could go wrong attitude. Well, besides not hitting, which is kind of expected from a back up catcher, his inability to throw the ball adequately back to the pitcher due to a mental block a la Steve Sax botching throws to first back in the '80's. Another loser that will be a free agent is Paulie LoDuca He should remain a free agent if all the teams are smart. Fat chance. Wouldn't mind a young backup to Martin if the prospect was good defensively--oh wait we had one and we traded him for Casey Blake.

First Base
Another pretty entrenched position with James Loney solidly manning the position. They are going to need to let Sweeney walk and get a new backup/pinch hitter. I would most like re-signing Nomar back to first as Loney's backup and also hand him a super utility/pinch hitting role. Nomar just started a family. Mia Hamm's job is in SoCal. He knows he can't stay healthy. I'm sure he could man up enough and sign a contract for 1 year, around $2 million with PA incentives.
They could switch old first baseman and try out Tony Clark. The plus on him is he is a switch hitter. The minuses are he's old and may just prefer to go back to Arizona. I would be o.k. with this but would prefer Nomar, because the role isn't all that big and I just plain like the idea of keeping Nomar around, because he can't hurt the dodgers in that role if he's willing to accept it.

Second Base
Kent retires, now what? The dodgers have to be operating under the assumption that this is Jeff Kent's last season. They can maybe work out an informal deal where they pay him some amount to offer him arbitration with the understanding he will decline it, so should he pull a Favre, he agrees to sign somewhere else entitling the dodgers to some draft picks. Kent pretty much should qualify as an A type free agent so that would be neat. But there's not a very good chance that Kent would pull a Favre. Dodgers have a few options. If they want to go in house for a replacement, they have a choice of Tony Abreu, who is currently recovering from an abdominal hernia surgery, or Delwyn Young, who is probably overmatched defensively to play there regularly. I like Abreu, but it's been so long since he's played that it's hard to really know what you'll get from him to just hand him the starting second baseman job after all of his injuries. It's warming up to be another LaRoche career path out of L.A for Abreu, add to that one more strike against him for having Boras as his agent. So we'll see.

There is one free agent Vin Scully would be delighted with and that's Orlando Hudson. This may be a free agent the dodgers invest in if they fail in the CC Sabathia sweepstakes. He's both old school and Sabermetric friendly. He hits exceptionally well in dodger stadium and in Arizona, a major plus. The bad news is his bat doesn't perform well at Coors, Petco, or AT&T. I'd guess his contract would be pretty pricey, so that's kind of a minus, but O-dog is the star type of player that you do show the money to. He'll kinda be Rafael Furcal-light.

If the dodgers don't like either of these they can go for veteran insurance in the form of maybe Mark Grudzielanek, but probably more realistically, Jose Valentin and hope one of the in house options supplants him in a month or two.

Shortstop
Furcal is waving buh-bye to the dodgers, what now? The weirdo move I like the best is taking a big gamble and doubling down now, back injury and all, by negotiating a contract extension with him and hoping he forgoes his free agency to re-up with L.A. It's a huge shot in the dark but might actually work. Seems to hair brained, though so I'll lay out the other options. Plan B is in house option Chin Lung-Hu. He's tearing up Las Vegas again after eye surgery, so maybe the power we saw late last season on the big club is for real. I'd feel less unsure of handing him shortstop out of spring training than handing Abreu second base because the dodgers have been managing with almost zilch offensive production from shortstop for a while now, at least you know Hu would be a defensive upgrade. If for whatever reason there's no faith in Hu, you can try being aggressive with Ivan DeJesus Jr. With him his plate discipline may make the jump to the major leagues doable. He's also solid defensively. Thank goodness the Jack Wilson trade didn't happen. The free agent pickings are too expensive and will want too many years to sign as stopgaps. The dodgers really shouldn't want to commit to Rentaria or Orlando Cabrera. After that there's a huge dropoff in the free agent talent down to Cesar Izturis who probably would sign for one season or so on the cheap, but he doesn't make sense for the dodgers because the in-house options already trump him offensively.

Third Base
Will third base remain a black hole? A position where players go to get injured, to suck, or both? The manager seems to really like Blake DeWitt as evidenced by his decision to keep playing DeWitt after the league had caught onto him and despite DeWitt's failure to make counter-adjustments. I'm o.k. with them going back to him as the heir apparent at the position, mainly because there's nobody better to go after. Chipper Jones is the only free agent at third that kicks butt, but he's probably going to either return to the braves or retire. I'm sorry but I can't really get excited bout Joe Crede or Wes Helms. Casey Blake makes no sense to commit to because he'll want length and he's already 35. I don't care that he's a late bloomer he's still past his prime and could drop off a cliff in terms of production. The black hole at third seriously makes me wish we could just move Martin there and try to bring up prospect Lucas May. The only other option is to trade for a third baseman and we all know how fruitful that has been this season before the arrival of Blake. I'm not going to consider Nomar for a starting third base job. He's just been too brittle to consider as a starter anywhere. I think he knows it too now.

Outfield
Right now the dodgers still have commitments to Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones beyond the '08 season. The dodgers have control over outfielders Ethier, Kemp, and Delwyn Young. I don't necessarily expect anything to give, but the dodgers definitely would get bonus points in my mental scorebook if they were to be able to get another team to take either of them, preferably Jones. Might happen when they put him on waivers. Some contender might think that bat may come alive like it pretended to when Jones made the last out last night. I think I was just surprised so much he made solid contact with a pitch that I assumed he hit the dang thing out the park for about a half a second. Anyways, if the dodgers do manage to get rid of an outfielder, there are some good close to prime outfielders to offer money to. I'd want to take a chance on Baldelli, but I should probably read up more on the complications of having a mitochondrial dna disorder before I get so gung-ho on offering the guy a multiyear contract. If the dodgers like the results of the Manny trade and want to try it for 4 years or so they might want to try signing Adam Dunn to play left field. Beyond that the only other person halfway interesting would be Wily Mo Pena. He's young. He can kinda hit. His fielding sucks. He's a tad crazy. If the dodgers want another Bradley-ish reclamation project they could take a chance on Pena. I don't think he's worth it because there's not enough power there to make up for the bad defense. I'm also tired of bat-crap-crazy players that get too much media attention. Problem is the dodgers don't have outfield prospect to even try to hand an outfield spot to. My guess is left field goes to Juan Pierre and Delwyn Young next year unless they manage to upgrade through trade. Unlike third base, there are actually decent, attainable outfielders that could be obtained with surplus pitching prospects the dodgers just seem to crap out of their system.

Pitching
First off I want to state that I would have never guessed that Carl Pavano was only 33 years old. He just seems so 37-38'ish. He looks like a darn coach in the dugout. Signing free agent to me is dangerous no matter how he sure the thing is you think you're signing. I guess my fear/distaste of free agent starting pitchers stems from the Kevin Brown signing. The dodgers have lots and lots of pitching, but you know how that goes. A team can go from having 7 starters to having 3 in a matter of a couple of weeks. Despite my fear and distaste of free agent pitching you just cannot ignore the big, double-C as an in-prime superstar talent to bolster a rotation that expects to trot out Billingsley, Kuroda, Kershaw, and Penny (could be traded). Penny is almost definitely gone if the dodgers sign Sabathia. He definitely would make the medicine of Andruw Jones or Juan Pierre go down in a trade for a third baseman or outfield upgrade because he's in his prime and is paid borderline dirt cheap. The next biggest contract probably goes to Ben Sheets. He's one I'd like the dodgers to avoid as I'm afraid he'll pull a Dreifort and go down with a career ending injury. Oliver Perez is a risky investment because of his inconsistency, but a risk worth taking because the talent is there should the dodgers lose out on CC. I wouldn't be mad totally mad at another deal with Randy Wolf although I'd feel it was a bit too much blocking of the dodgers young arms just to have a proven 5'th starter. Beyond those four guys there's no free agent starters I want the dodgers to be interested in given all the good, young arms that are about to matriculate. James McDonald is the guy I can't wait to see most. Any guy that goes from being a hitter to a pitcher is just such a beat-the-odds feat that I want him to be the yang to Rick Ankiel's ying. Stults is in his prime, and throws left, so he well could make the club as a 5'th starter (or traded). Even assuming the dodgers miss out on every free agent pitcher, the dodgers young arms (thanks in part to Logan White's ability to draft arms) should be able to keep the staff and pen strong into the beginning of next decade.
As far as the bullpen. I have a soft spot for Joe Beimel...not that crazy fan that got arrested in Cincinatti stalking-type of soft spot for Beimel. He's just a guy I like because he went from being a fringe lefty to almost an elite reliever capable of 70 appearances and still getting the job done. He's managed to be an above average reliever who's been used heavily going on three years now. That amount of consistency after such mediocrity just begs to be re-signed. Hopefully he doesn't harbor any ill feelings over getting beaten in arbitration with his cut hand being thrown back up in his face. If the organization is more comfortable in keeping Broxton on the job track of becoming the career holds leader instead of a closer, and there is money burning in their pockets from not signing any free agents, maybe they will sign K-Rod. Otherwise, there's no use in signing any relievers given the amount of young arms the dodgers have. Wade...Troncoso...Brazoban...Broxton...maybe Torre demands the dodgers sign Proctor so that he can finish off the job of making his arm fall off. O.K. I'm all out of material.

Boston Herald Can't Resist a Parting Shot At Manny (kinda ranty)

2008-08-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

This article stings, like Bilbo Baggins' elven shortsword. What I think is a bit b.s. about it is if Manny was such a bad guy, why didn't the Herald call him out as a terrible person like this long ago (they did n small doses, with far more praise for him--especially when the team was WINNING in the postseason!), while scolding the team for having spoiled him so much? Because he was a red sock. When you're an adopted new englander, the people accept you, warts and all. Now that he's not, all bets are off. The Sox kept Manny. The only reason Manny is on a plane to the west coast is because after the red sox front office doing the math, he finally became more trouble than the remaining $7 million left on his contract was worth. They let Roger walk as soon as they figured he was in enough decline not to be worth his fat contract. The sox made sure a few unflattering tidbits made it to the press on his way out. The sox sure showed Roger back then, right? It will also be something when Roger goes into the hall with a Yankees cap on. The media had turned on Roger while being kicked out of Boston just like they are now with Manny after years of him repeatedly begging to be dealt. As bad of a man the Herald may think he is right now, they sure will give it to Manny again when he tries to enter the hall without a red sox cap on. If he's such a bad guy, remember to write an article applauding him for choosing not to disgrace Boston fans to go into the hall with their organization's cap on when he goes in with that Cleveland cap on over his dreads.
Just for the record, I agree that Manny's not a nice guy, but this article is hypocritical holier-than-thou to the next level. The Boston Herald never misses an opportunity to eat its own young. I mean, what did they learn from the other a-hole, Roger Clemens?

Jeff Kent: Batman Becomes Robin Again With Addition of Manny

2008-08-01T09:52:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time Jeff Kent used to occupy the Robin role to Barry Bonds' Batman with the San Francisco Giants. It was a bit dysfunctional, erupting over in the famous fight between the two. Kent did win an MVP award, but was still widely seen as the number two guy on the team. Kent eventually went to Houston where he was again number two to the incumbent veterans Bagwell and Biggio. When he signed on with the dodgers, he finally was on a team where he was "the" guy. It wasn't apparent at first, but in time the media came to realize that Kent had the ear of the owners.
Perhaps that had a part in what played out in the dealing of troubled outfielder Milton Bradley. After their infamous on field argument, and the ensuing ugliness of Bradley being unable to keep his mouth shut to save not only his job, but what shreds of goodwill he had garnered in Los Angeles (despite some earlier bad behavior) after similar events transpired that caused him to be traded from Cleveland to the dodgers just a few seasons before.
So again, Jeff Kent is in a situation where he is the number two guy in terms of talent on a team. And again (as with Bonds but maybe not with Bradley), the more talented guy has wrinkles that really get to Kent. If Kent showed up Bradley in the middle of a game for not running hard enough on a Jeff Kent double, how is Kent going to handle Manny's lackadaisical attitude? How many ground balls not run out by Manny will it take to catch Kent's ire? Maybe he respects Manny despite him being Manny because of how much he's accomplished in the game. Maybe Kent pillories Manny just because of how much more he could accomplish given his talent. In this sense, Kent might be as unpredictable as Bradley is. While Bradley is in your face, Kent is passive-aggressive. He'll be silent and sullen for a long time and then suddenly blow up and show up his teammate on the field like he's their father. Manny's already been physical against a teammate.

All I know is it'll be pretty tough for Jeff Kent to play Robin instead of Batman again.

one more thing...

2008-07-31T14:25:00.001-07:00

no two...

first the dodgers can't be done with moves as they now have Kemp, Ethier, Jones, Pierre, and now Manny. Something's gotta give.

Second...Pat Buchanan sounds more and more like Archie Bunker over there on MSNBC every day.

More Manny

2008-07-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

At least Manny won't forget to hit when he comes to California, unlike Andruw Jones.
Anyways...

Pirates seem to really make out here getting Morris, LaRoche(both brothers on the same team now), Hansen and Moss (think Andre Ethier with a lot more strikeouts). I don't really like Moss as I don't think he will ever turn out to be anything beyond a 4'th or 5'th outfielder because of the high strikeout rate, but he could still turn around. Hansen is a young, arm who could turn things around and be serviceable. I'm biased, but LaRoche is the most talented of the prospects that the bucs are getting.. He's not Evan Longoria good, but that power is there. I've seen it myself. He will at the very least pound the heck out of mistake pitches. Who'd have thought Jason Bay would net Pittsburgh 4 prospects? My first reaction would have been just to have dealt for Bay directly and kept him, but on second thought getting Manny makes more sense if all the older rumors of Manny only waiving his no-trade clause to a team in return for a promise to decline his option for '09 allowing him to be a free agent. Furthermore he would promise to decline an offer of arbitration so the dodgers could get a first round draft pick (plus a supplemental first round draft pick if the team signing Manny is less than 15'th overall in the standings for '08). Keeping Bay you're dealing with someone who is productive and relatively cheap, but he's 29 already and his next year salary will be 7.5 million dollars (still quite a bargain). Acquiring bay would have been easier, but the exit strategy would have been harder/murkier. Would the dodgers be able to offer him arbitration...yada yada. Plus we get our draft picks sooner.

Plus Manny is one pissed off, ready to prove what a mistake the red sox made by pissing him off and trading him (even though he's the drama queen that kept asking to be traded...but still). I like the idea of a motivated Manny, and perhaps better draft picks to replace LaRoche and Morris.
Morris wasn't all that hyped when picked. He was the also-ran I believe in the same draft Kershaw was taken in, so it's understandable why he could get lost in the shuffle. Since assistant gm Logan White has so much success in the draft, Morris in a few years could be making the dodgers wish they hadn't traded for a few months of Manny.

I'm reading on rotoworld that Boras may have injected a clause forcing the dodgers to not offer Manny arbitration (no draft picks :()...which if true kills the deal for me. LaRoche is worth more than 2 months of Manny to me since there is a huge hole over there at third base and Blake DeWitt seems less likely to be able to fill it than LaRoche, but I don't make the decisions, I just get to sit and watch the results. Why would the dodgers give up better prospects to get two months of the older outfielder under no control and with no draft compensation while the red sox gave up more mediocre talents and are more likely to get draft compensation after '09. Boo...

No F'ing Way!...No Suh! (New England Version)

2008-07-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well that 1% figured its way into reality. I have no idea what the dodgers gave up. Supposedly Kemp, and then Ethier were off the table...it's hard to believe I'm typing that Manny Ramirez is a freaking dodger ...

A Rumor I'm Glad To Hear: Old Mad-Dog Maddux

2008-07-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

A rumored move I'm looking forward to the dodgers making is re-acquiring Greg Maddux from the Padres. I really like Maddux. The move would bolster the pitching staff if Penny really isn't better when he comes off the DL, pushes the likes of Jason Johnson to the pen, doesn't cost much to acquire because it would basically be the padres doing Greg a favor. He provides intangible to the pitching staff, especially the younger pitchers, most particularly young Clayton Kershaw. The story told most by Vin is that Maddux called a game for Brad Penny from the dugout and Penny made one of the best starts in his career. So anyways, enough gushing about Greg Maddux from me, hopefully it's a done deal tomorrow.

Oh Yeah, More Manny Musings

2008-07-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

I'm 99% sure Manny doesn't come to L.A. now. The best rumor I read was Manny to Philadelphia presumably for Pat Burrell. Burrell's in his walk year so that works out as well. Philadelphia would probably finagle a fringe prospect out of the sox for doing Boston the favor. Burrell is only 31, so maybe Boston seizes the opportunity and tries to extend him instead of letting him become a free agent. If I remember correctly Philly has been trying to get rid of Burrell for a whiles but just kind of give up and keep him, kinda like the sox's situation with Manny--except for all the Mannyisms. If this offer is on the table, and the goal of the sox is to replace Manny's production in left field but without the drama, then they should make a deal like this because it practically replaces Manny with a younger version being paid less. If their goal is to gaffle prospects from some other team then I guess this deal doesn't get done and there may be life to Manny to the marlins or dodgers. It's impossible for them to achieve both goals. It would be dumb for the sox to dump Manny for prospects in the middle of a pennant race. He's not that big of a distraction.

Red Sox Almost Get No Hit At Fenway

2008-07-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

So, B.I.L., I didn't watch the entire game because the dodgers were playing at the same time but I flipped back and forth between the angels and dodgers games near the end, and to my surprise the red sox were hitting like the dodgers. I tried to wake up Puck in the bottom of the 9'th but even Jacoby Ellsbury's dreamy face (she hasn't actually articulated what she thinks makes him hot) wasn't enough to wake her up. Thank goodness she stayed asleep because his strikeout swing was pretty ugly. Pedroia's hit to break up the no hitter was kinda ho-hum, but Youkilis' shot made up for it by going almost out of the park. Now onto some odds and ends from my game. Giants/Dodgers Observations: Puck and I both agreed that pitcher Jason Johnson, a journeyman, looks like the actor that plays the (going to spell this phonetically with a new england accent) Bay Hah-buh Butch-uuh on the showtime series, Dexter. Another interesting thing we noticed was a little black box on the belt area of his uniform pants. Puck finally came out with it and asked, "What's that black box thing on his belt?" At first I was just like, "I don't know. Looks kinda like a pager or..." then I say something very crude about a piece of his anatomy that he probably keeps in that box for emergency use only that I won't repeat. Puck blurts out, "Could be an insulin pump." and she was right. I had read about him being a diabetic with a pump weeks ago and forgotten about it, mainly because he's a sucky pitcher and I wish the dodgers played a better option like Hong-Chi Kuo. We also agreed that the new dodger, former indian Casey Blake, looks a lot like a meatier, more coordinated looking version of lefty pitcher Mark Hendrickson who once tripped and fell on the mound and went down in an awkward heap of legs and arms. Besides look-a-likes I don't have much. Cain, a power pitcher, didn't seem to have his best stuff. Still, the dodgers couldn't take much advantage because they really couldn't hit him. Cain started off with a fastball only in the high 80's. I kept noting it was odd because he usually sits around 92-93. But, come the 5'th or 6'th inning he got stronger and started coming harder with his stuff. Then he got knocked around a little bit. Wee-yud. There was one notably odd play in which a line drive was hit down the left field line and Lewis bobbled the baseball once he got to it and the ball went onto the wall separating foul ground from the seats with the fans. The ball rolled enough on that little wall and started to fall into the seats as Fred Lewis snatched it back up, threw it to home to catch Loney at the plate. After an ump convention, they ruled the ball deflected (it was a good call) and that Loney sores because he was already at third when the left fielder bobbled the ball into the stands. That probably wasn't worth your attention span to read but thanks. Oh, and another blog points out that Casey Blake looks a lot like Gerald Butler from the movie 300...but I haven't seen 300 so you're going to have to check that out for yourself.

Many Manny Musings Might Make Many More Morose

2008-07-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Say that ten times fast. Since this rumor has entered its second day, I'm going to muse morosely about it (how many grammatical rules did I break there? If not, did I misuse the its when I should have it'sed?). Manny may end up being Manny in the left field at dodger stadium. I'm seriously doubting this comes to pass, but it's written about over here at si.com. At last! A convergence of news events between my brother in laws team and mine!
Alright, so here's guys the Red Sox might want. Keep in mind that Manny's demand that his option be declined by any team that takes him in trade as a condition of his waiving his no trade clause hurts his trade value, so no getting the moon for Manny under this scenario. Derek Lowe would seem like a good piece to get back as he's both a solid pitcher, and versatile. The sox have a good rotation and pen, but you can never have enough pitching and Lowe is one of those guys that thrives in postseason play. He could also come into the game in relief in high leverage situations and induce some ground balls if crap hit the fan in any game.
A need the Sox have had for a while has been shortstop. Lowrie seems to be the shortstop of the future, but when you've had the sox luck at the position, you may want an extra premium shortstop prospect lest the red sox impulsively trade one away. The dodgers may be willing to provide them with that. Their shortstop prospects are pretty solid. They would probably prefer Ivan DeJesus Jr. because of his ability to get on base, but may have to settle for Chin-Lung Hu who's defense is great but who's offense is questionable. I think at this point Sox fans don't mind a defensive shortstop that can't hit after a few seasons of watching Lugo do neither offense or defense well.
They might gamble on taking the aging Jeff Kent. They can plop him down over at first base, and move Youkilis to left field. I don't know how viable Youks is in the outfield, but I've seen that he's played there. He's gotta be a defensive improvement over Manny.
Something the sox don't need this second but will need in the future (Boston and Varitek will probably part ways this winter) is a catcher. The dodgers could help with that by including catching prospect Lucas May. The dodgers are decent at developing catchers, so May should be the real deal. He's already on the dodgers 40 man roster and at 23 years old, he should be close to MLB ready.
The pill that the sox are probably going to have to swallow is having to receive Andruw Jones back in the deal. This is why I don't think the deal happens, but hey, maybe the Sox have a brighter idea nobody else has considered.
A pill the dodgers might have happily swallowed were he healthy is Julio Lugo. The dodgers need a shortstop...again. Nomar got hurt...again. Surprise, surprise. The Sox would much rather expand the deal to include Lugo if the dodgers were sticking to the Sox needing to take Andruw Jones and then get even more young players out of L.A.
About those young players. Instead of who the sox could use it makes more sense to think of what the braves would want. They would probably want DeWitt and LaRoche. I don't think the dodgers would give up LaRoche, but might give up DeWitt. LaRoche could play third for the rest of this season and replace Chipper should he retire this winter. He could also replace the outgoing Teixeira at first base. Beyond DeWitt or LaRoche, Lucas May, and maybe one of pitchers Miller and maybe Stults or McDonald. I don't see the dodgers going any further for a rental. Miller is pretty much a fringe prospect now but McDonald is a solid prospect who probably ends up being a 4'th starter at his peak. But if the sox don't take Andruw Jones, they're not getting DeWitt at all and most likely not even LaRoche. They'll still get the more average prospects like Miller, Stults, and McDonald.
What would I do...hmmm...I'd assume the sox want nothing to do with Kent, are willing to take back Jones just so they don't have to start Crisp and have a better arm in center field, and like the dodgers catching prospect. So Andruw Jones, Lucas May, Blake DeWitt, Eric Stults, and Greg Miller for Manny Ramirez and cash considerations (1.5 million of the balance of Manny's salary this year). DeWitt, Miller, and Stults probably don't get a Teixeira deal done for the sox, but it's a good start. Stults is a solid lefty 5'th starter type who's cheap and in his prime. He's not sexy, but he'll give decent innings for the rest of the year for the braves. Miller has a great arm but suffers from wildness so if he somehow puts it together he could be an excellent set up man or closer. DeWitt is a former first round pick who played lights out for a month in the majors after being called up from double a. He's picking it back up in triple a vegas right now since the Casey Blake trade. Hell the braves may want Jones back if the sox paid a good bit of his salary. I'm going to stop now because my brain is frying.

Ding! Dong! The Kent is Gone!

2008-07-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

So glad I read the L.A. Times this morning. Jeff Kent says he probably won't be back next season. It's weird because I was just explaining the relationship between Kent and the dodgers on Sunday to the only other person in the room that Jeff Kent has kind of always wanted 'his own team' where everybody plays by his rules because of his days on the giants with Barry Bonds. I think that's a pretty true statement. I'm glad the dodgers can finally man that position with somebody that moves instead of someone that looks like a Madame Tussauds' (had to look that one up) re-creation of a 70's porn star dressed up in a baseball uniform--or a wax figure of the lost member of the Village People. I'm going to stop clowning on Kent now, but I've been hoping for more infield defense for a whiles now. Acquiring Blake while Nomar is manning short isn't exactly warming my heart but I kept my mouth zipped about it because with Nomar they were only doing what they could. Which leads me to last night's loss. Ground ball pitchers + bad infield defense= farcical innings like the one Kuroda experienced. Granted, what started the whole series of unfortunate events was probably a mental misstep by Kuroda or Martin, but all you have to do is Tivo a dodgers start by Derek Lowe or look at his stats to see for yourself what I'm talking about. Thankfully the diamondbacks lost as well so the blue remain one game back. I now feel a strange compulsion to question why a muskrat guards its musk. The answer is the same thing that would have kept Brett Favre's mouth shut after he retired and hopefully keeps Kent's closed after his tearful farewell news conference. Courage...

Guarantees

2008-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

I don't think the Casey Blake acquisition guarantees October baseball for the dodgers. There's still a lot of baseball left (58 more games worth). I think it does guarantee a bit more offensive production from the third base position.
There is strong speculation that Ned's job is in jeopardy. Perhaps making the playoffs staves off his axing. I don't know if anyone or any outcome could seal his fate one way or another, but the calls for his head made me think about the things that the media were complaining about when the dodgers were losing badly and not seeming like they'd be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
DL'd payroll is a big sore spot. It's not so focused under the microscope now that some of the DL'd payroll is back on the field and the dodgers are kind of winning. In the case of Andruw Jones, he's back on the field but performing badly. Nomar was out for most of the season and is now the starting shortstop, but may be injured yet again. Schmidt hasn't pitched since '07 and only then pitched 25 2/3 innings in a whopping 6 starts. Loaiza's useless and overpaid rear end spent some titme on the DL before being DFA'd. He's now unemployed, but he can still roll around in the 7.5 million dollars he's still getting paid by the dodgers. I think they'll still have to pay 375 grand to buy out his '09 option. Furcal, the straw that stirred the dodgers' offense drink is sidelined with no timetable to return in the walk year of his three year contract. I don't think anyone is really mad at Ned for that signing. The payroll of this season's team is huge...bloated even with a lot of it not playing.
So how is the team set up for the future should things not work out this year? How bad is this GM at cutting the hamstrings of the team's future? Surprisingly not that bad. There is only about 65 million in guaranteed salary, bonus payouts, and options to be paid out for '09 and about 35 million for 2010. Those numbers don't include pay raises for the younger players that are pre-arbitration or are arbitration eligible. The team seems pretty flexible going forward. Andruw Jones and Jason Schmidt are the biggest ticket items in the '09 salary basket followed by Kuroda, Pierre, and Penny. Free agents are risky business. They don't all work out. Ask other big market teams like the Mets and Yankees. Assuming McCourt is comfortable with about 110 million payroll or less for a "contending" team, Colletti's commitments in '09 and '10 don't make his free agent signing failures don't seem crippling enough to hurt the team's ability to add star, in prime, talent to their awesome, emerging nucleus of young players. Whether or not it causes McCourt to fire Colletti is another matter. I can't guarantee Colletti's job either way for reasons unrelated to how many McCourt dollars are being paid to people rehabbing injuries.

Big Papi's Homer/Post for the Red Sox Loving In-Laws

2008-07-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

I watched part of the Red Sox/Yankees game on ESPN. It was funny how the game was making a fool out of the commentators regarding Lester and then turned around and made them look like prophets when hungry-hungry-hippo-eater Sidney Ponson aka the doppleganger for that group that sang 'Walking on the Sun' back in the '90's (Nancy thought that one up). I hope you watched it too.

It's Rumor Time Again

2008-07-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it was certainly entertaining to wake up and read this. I'm down for Robinson Cano being a dodger, just not quite under those circumstances. I would much rather trade Lowe and Kent...so that the yanks can have a second baseman going back the other way and all. There's not much use in trading Lowe unless: (1) they get back something useful to keep winning games and make the playoffs, (2) the return is likely better than the picks received from whichever team signs him as a free agent. Cano is a great player, but this wasn't really what I figured would come out of the rumor mill, which is another one of those reasons I kinda like this game.

The Lyon Weeps Tonight

2008-07-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

I like Brandon Lyon. I like him a lot. I like him because he seems to blow a lot of saves (5 this season). The dodgers almost got him in the 3-2 loss. Bad managing by the diamondbacks is my rendered verdict.

In other news, the dodgers got a utilityman in the form of Pablo Ozuna. I don't know what they're expecting this guy to do but hopefully it's not much lol. How many middle infield utilitymen does one semi-contending team need? My baseball-reference.com sponsor page is Hu's, so I'm chomping at the bit to see if he gets some action once rosters expand. Hopefully the little guy can catch lightning in a bottle and get some playing time. Hopefully the post eye surgery success isn't fleeting a la Mark Hendrickson. As far as the third base situation I'd much rather LaRoche be given some time to sink or swim over there and have DeWitt try to work out of his funk at second spelling Kent and getting the occasional start at second and third, but I'm repeating myself now. Thank goodness that Nomar is hot right now.

Hopefully this Jason Johnson guy has been showcased enough to be a throw-in that we won't miss in a trade for somebody that might actually help and go back to Kershaw in the rotation. I'm still holding out for the dodgers perhaps using Kuo as a starter during the playoffs if they get there. Stults is scheduled to pitch tonight (just saw Joel Hanrahan pitching garbage innings for the Nats yesterday afternoon--I liked what I saw of him in Vegas). I think you either have to decide to stick with Stults or deal him. He's in his prime and he's pitching as well as he probably will in his entire life right now. Use him or get something for him. Park is on the record (L.A. Times) on being against taken out of the rotation. He seems like he'd be lights out as a set up guy with his stuff being as good as it has (knock on wood). Maybe the whole topsy-turviness of the rotation is to rest arms for down the final stretch. Last year there was a really bad dead armed phase both the rotation and bullpen experienced.

I'll end this with one final thought. We need more left handed hitters...

Sometimes Saying Nothing Means Nothing

2008-07-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've gotten out of the habit of reading the sports editorials written by Plaschke because to me he pretty much is like a fairweather friend to the subject he covers. As soon as the subject isn't doing so well, he's more than quick in trying to make drama and place blame where there seems at the surface to be none just so people will read it. So stupid me reads a Plaschke article after reading all these ranting blog comments just to see what all the hubbub is about.

Sad thing is the author just goes on a speculating spree that what McCourt didn't say in an interview means what Plaschke wants to write about. It smacks to me of what the Jerry Springer Show would be like in print form. There are so many angles to write interesting things about the dodgers, but Plaschke seems to have trouble writing anything that doesn't involve imagining that the owner, manager, or GM is singling out "a few of the young players" and imagined front office chaos.

More specifically, the fact that Mr. McCourt said it wasn't fair to blame the GM for injuries and a high payroll that is underperforming somehow means that it is fair and further implies that the GM's job is probably in jeopardy if the underperforming (the team is just 1 game out of first place still, but yes it's true the team is underperforming) continues. Then he goes on to cite a rumor from a source that isn't even his to imply there is some conspiracy within the organization to undermine either the GM or the owner. Lame. Plaschke might as well be writing about alien visitation or bigfoot sightings because the sourcing and speculation would probably be more credible

Furthermore, he goes on to twist McCourt's statements out of context to weave a tale about the possibility that some of the young dodger players could be dealt because they aren't winners. This is a theme that Plaschke seems to have an on again off again love affair with despite the fact that all the young players minus Blake DeWitt are performing well. If Plaschke's spin is to be believed and Joe Torre and the GM think so badly of Matt Kemp, why would he be batting leadoff and in addition be given ample opportunities to steal? Why would LaRoche still be on the team? These are the questions that pop the balloon of Plaschke's speculation and implications.

But what I believe is the most telling thing about how Plaschke weaves whatever you want to call that article is when he doesn't quote McCourt but says, "McCourt has learned some kids are ready to be winners and some are not". Plaschke incorrectly implies that McCourt believes that these nameless young players that are not ready to be winners will never be winners and should be gone right before he quotes McCourt talking about the need for patience with young players. Plaschke trudges on further to imply that these young kids could be dealt and the GM fired. Never let the facts get in the way of a good soap opera story line, yeah?

If you look at the facts and who is playing it's clear to see who the organization believes in. Matt Kemp plays every day despite the innuendo from Plaschke's articles that he's some kind of troublemaker. Another fact just for the heck of it...Martin, Loney, Ethier, and Kemp are the active players on base the most in that order on the dodgers. What I also see is Ethier not playing enough, but I'm not going to be a Plaschke and pretend to know why that's the case. I think Ethier should play more, but maybe there's something I don't know. Maybe the GM or Torre do have that one wrong. They still have a chance to make it right by continuing to play Ethier when Pierre is healthy again. I mean, he only leads the team in homers and slugging%, power being the team's biggest bugbear this season, despite missing out on playing time early on.

LaRoche in my opinion since he's finally healthy should be playing third almost every day. DeWitt should be used to rest Kent late in games and started on Kent's rest days at second base. Kuo should be starting over Stults in my opinion as well. These are all simple adjustments that could make the team better with the pieces they already have. There doesn't have to be some magic trade deadline deal to save Colletti's job as Plaschke hints at in his piece of work. Just play the best players.

McCourt didn't say anything that actually feeds into Plaschke's conspiracy theories about how the dodgers are run. McCourt didn't have to say it because Plaschke is a mind reader. Give me a break.

This article makes me feel better about management/front office/GM et al (despite the problems I've expressed) because Plaschke had to work so hard to twist the owner's words to make the organization seem chaotic so all the Plaschke haters would get in a tizzy and the negative, viral, vibe cloud would spread through cyberspace like some internet version of the ebola virus.

I think I'm almost immune now.

Why?

2008-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Why aren't the dodgers doing better?

Why isn't LaRoche playing more?

Why isn't Blake DeWitt sitting more?

Why isn't Russell Martin given a chance at short just once?

Why is Hong-Chi Kuo not pitching more innings?

Why is Scott Proctor pitching so many innings given the above?

Why aren't the dodgers managing more like they've got nothing to lose?

Why is Mark Sweeney even on the roster now?

Why does Delwyn Young have more innings logged at RF instead of LF?

Why does Delwyn Young's playing time come at the expense of Kemp or Ethier?

Why did Nomar and Schmidt have to get hurt again (maybe some things shouldn't be questioned)?

Maybe I'll cover when, where, or who some over time.

Yesterday Didn't Suck

2008-06-18T07:38:00.001-07:00

At least not completely (yeah, not a complete sentence). Had to have a cat we adopted only about 2 1/2 months ago put to sleep. So I was too preoccupied trying to make small talk after we left our friend/pet that I totally had forgotten that the dodgers were playing and even if I'd remembered, I wouldn't have cared to flip the channel there. I just couldn't go there tonight. Thankfully, the dodgers won, breaking a pretty ugly losing streak that doesn't quite compare with a terminally ill pet. But as all you sports followers know, the suckage that was yesterday didn't end with just my cat passing. When I'd finally gotten over the awkwardness of being at home with one less family member to shut my big mouth, I checked the Lakers game and the hammer of suckage that had seemed to have stopped hitting me over and over again over the head now struck me square in the chest. It wasn't too bad yet, kind of like Jasmine, our cat two weeks ago. The Celtics lead was only around ten points about 4 minutes before half time, but you could kind of tell the team's heart wasn't in it except for maybe Bryant. Gasol looked the worst to me. Odom kind of looked like he was trying, but he seemed like he had concrete insoles or something because he was slow and awkward. So I got mad and put it on the news again.

Meanwhile my wife was now talking to her big bro. I had mentally resigned myself to the fact that the celtics were going to finish off the lakers tonight like an alcoholic 51's fan would finish off a beer on $1 beer night, quickly and with great relish. But my wife cocks her head over in my direction and lightly asks are the celtics still winning. My face falls, I change the channel and a 23 point lead confronts me. I let my wife know so she can tell her brother in new england who can't watch the game himself since he's in the process of moving/painting his new place. His cable-less t.v. is at his old place still I believe.

With the final sucky event capping off my evening, my thoughts went back to where's Jasmine as I slip into bed (she would usually come out from underneath our bed to cuddle up with Nancy or burrow underneath the comforter between us). And as reflexively as I reached for the remote and switched on the bedroom television I reminded myself that Jasmine is gone and that she's not coming back. But cats can't suck, so I couldn't get angry that she can't be with us anymore.

How about them dodgers...

Who Else Is Ready To Get Injured?

2008-06-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

I wrote this draft on 6-15-08...everything in ()'s is my 11-10-08 editorial on it:

(Not so surprising, the Rays were for real)

(I still don't know, but I'll keep paying attention to how the Rays do/have done things).

Russell Martin

2008-06-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

My wife says to kill the 'stache because it doesn't do you any favors. She may not be the best judge in the world since I sport a 'stache. My opinion is why do you want to look like Jeff Kent's mini-me?

Disappointing

2008-06-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

The dodgers recent play has been disappointing. If I'm disappointed as a casual fan sitting at home watching the games, it must be excruciating for the players. Probably highest on that list would be Furcal and Jones, who were supposed to be the backbone of the team yet are injured. I know this can't last and I'll be insanely happy about the team when they start winning again. Despite the terrible play they are only 4 games back. So I'm going to give my brain a rest and not try to figure out why the dodgers are sucking right now. I'll just brood a bit until things come around, like the economy.

Bison Gets A Bit Wild

2008-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Bison got into a fight. He's probably going to get suspended. Maybe it fires up the team and take it as frustrated with losing games they should win. That's the only silver lining I can see in this. I guess it could also give Young the regular at bats he needs in a few days span to show he's better than Pierre. One thing I do know is that Young shouldn't be playing right field because he does look lost on his routes. His arm is better than Pierre's I would guess, but the man is not comfortable in the outfield and I think right field is a bit more than he can chew. He looked bad in Vegas playing left field two years ago, and he looked bad in right today.

In other news Gary Bennett says he finally can throw the ball back to the pitcher without the pitcher having to take a few steps forward so the ball doesn't bounce. I think the team can just do without the guy and waive him. Oh how I wish we'd kept Bellorin instead of giving him away for free. I'm not in love with Ardoin, but he can throw the ball back to the pitcher and walk when he's at the plate.

In injury news it still looks like Schmidt and Nomar have no eta on returning. Not such a bad thing. Andruw Jones will be on the DL for a while still. But Furcal seems close to returning and has rethought his resistant to a minor league assignment.

Hopefully they call up that LaRoche guy sooner than later.

I can't wait to see Kershaw pitch again.

Geesh!

2008-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

The dodgers look like they are going to lose again and I can't decide what to eat. Kent needs to admit to the world he needs a breather.

I Hope (the month and a half into the season version)

2008-05-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

that Furcal gives us more of the MVP performance he teased us with at the beginning of the year

Kent stops letting his pride mess with him

Hu gets regular playing time in Vegas if the Kent charade goes on all season

LaRoche gets a legit shot at third or second base

DeWitt keeps an MLB job in L.A.

Kershaw has an angel protecting his shoulder, elbow, and arm

I get to see a bit more of Cory Wade from time to time

James McDonald gets a Kershaw-ish hyped debut this season

Lowe gets traded for young pitching or a premium outfield prospect at the trade deadline if he has no intention of negotiating an extension

the Mazas and Tiffees of this organization do not see much playing time

the dodgers give up hope on Sweeney being an effective pinch hitter because he looks overdone

Gary Bennett doesn't come back as a backup catcher with the dodgers

the Crazy Cajun suffices as Martin's rarely used catcher

Jones comes back from his surgery and plays roughly to the amount of money he's making this year

the marketing firm is able to make another cool and funny commercial starring Nomar that roughly approaches the van ad

Vin continues to be Vinlike

Steiner stops miscalling the games and quits the misnaming abominations like Jonathan Beimel

the L.A. Times doesn't write an article that makes the owners do something dumb

some smart guy figures out how to produce a bobble-armed bobblehead to outbobble that weak bobblelegged offering

patience again becomes a virtue with the young dodger hitters

hope I feel well enough to and afford to make the trip to L.A.,, eat like a normal american at the all you can eat pavilion, while watching the dodgers win.

Good Problem to have Kouz/Headley and LaRoche/DeWitt

2008-05-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

The dodgers and Padres have a problem in common. They both have two major league ready third baseman so one guy is stuck in triple a with nowhere to play. The padres have been playing Headley in left field. Dodgers tried that last season and abandoned the outfield experiment with LaRoche. Loney has been in a slump and there really isn't anyone adequate to fill in for him so if LaRoche could handle first to give rest days to Loney or against tough lefties (he hasn't shown he can't hit them yet with a career .352 obp against lefites). Why not just keep LaRoche a third baseman and shift DeWitt? Neither would have less range than Jeff Kent defensively...The padres on the other hand must be waiting for Headley to become comfortable with the outfield, because there are definitely no outfielders at the mlb level for the padres that are holding him back from being on the big club... Anyways, that's my frustration with the dodgers besides the fact they are losing games they should win by not hitting with runners in scoring position all of a sudden. I know it's just baseball and this stuff just kind of happens and it will eventually turn around unless one or more players decide to make this slumpage personal and we get to read stupid stories about players fighting amongst each other over trash cans...please, baseball gods, please don't let that happen again this year.

LaRoche needs to see the light of day part 2

2008-05-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

I really thought it hadn't been this long since I posted. The dodgers have been inconsistent. Kent keeps playing more than he should even though he should be on the DL. Hu isn't doing so well in sporadic playing time. Furby is now a question mark in terms of when he'll come off the DL. Loney is in a pretty bad slump. Kemp looked really bad flailing away at sliders last night. The dodgers have been losing games they shouldn't have mainly because of not cashing in on their numerous opportunities. I'm getting tired of seeing Russell Martin lead off the inning with a double and watch him stay there or only move to third as the formerly picky dodgers swing away at bad pitches or try too hard for a homer. To the cubs' credit, Fukudome made numerous great catches out there in right field. Makes you think that maybe the dodgers didn't make the best choice in adding a center fielder, which no doubt Fukudome could play in any park in the U.S.

Luckily, despite all the bad play the dodgers are still not too far from first place. The padres are ailing. The giants never had a chance, but the dodgers need to be playing up to their capabilities and regain their plate discipline because the rockies, padres, or diamondbacks could start playing well again any day now and put more distance between the dodgers and first place.

The dodgers need to shake things up before complacency kicks in. LaRoche seems like the most deserving, hungry guy that could stoke the competitive fires in his teammates. Putting him at third would be my leaning, shifting DeWitt to second. Put Kent on the DL where he's showing he belongs. Beyond that, if Kershaw's performance stays up and doesn't go up and down a la Billingsley's first season, make a blockbuster trade with another contender involving no-luck Lowe before he becomes a free agent and skips off to Detroit. The injuries to the dodgers and the rest of the league show you can't take anything for granted in baseball. An organization has to know when the amount of injuries to a club drag down the club to the point where the guys that are healthy just start playing badly out of apathy.

Shake things up out there!

Piazza Retires

2008-05-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sure his agent probably called the dodgers before doing so, so I won't go on with bright ideas about him signing with the dodgers to be Martin's backup and giving a drop kick to the current backup that throws back to the pitcher like 6 year olds do in little league. I wouldn't put it past the padres on picking him up. They could use any offense they can put their uniform on. Dodgers play tonight but I'll only get to see after the fact as it's the oooooh....american idol finale....oooooh!

Ethier Butt Humps DeWitt After Walk-off Single

2008-05-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

It was a great comeback win for the blue. DeWitt hit the walk off single that won the game. Afterwards as the team piled onto him Ethier basically butt-humped him with DeWitt bent over at the waist because he was weighed down by a few other teammates. I found it hilarious. Other highlights were Penny who looked pretty bad in the first inning managing to grow a bit stronger as the game went on. He looked really uncomfortable and his fastball was only hitting the 90 mph. Dunn hit a massive homer and Maza only walked up to the on deck circle only to be replaced by that guy that never gets a pinch hit and if he does he gets picked off...Sweeney!

I figured I'd get to skirt the dodgers game last night because of the no-hitter thrown by Lester earlier last night. I'm kinda cautious about the media created feel-good stories about ballplayers overcoming cancer because of what happened to Dave Dravecky. So without hype I'm just going to state that Lester is a great pitcher and hopefully that performance is just a foreshadowing of many great performances to come.
With that out of the way there's more news on the other coast with my team. Andruw Jones' knee is messed up and he may need surgery. So like I said yesterday this is kind of addition by subtraction. Jones clearly isn't playing like himself and perhaps this is the entire answer. Whatever it is, there are no more worries about Ethier being benched for no particularly good reason. This may also lead to the crack in the roster the Roach has been waiting for.

Oh and Gary Bennett admitted to the LA Daily news that he basically sucks.

Calling up K-Shaw.

2008-05-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

Esteban Loaiza's on the DL. The dodgers seem content to keep Kuo in as a long man reliever. The dodgers' starters are starting to tire, as evidenced by delaying Penny's start by a day and pitching Lowe on short rest, which didn't work out well for the dodgers. There's a simple answer to this. Call up K-Shaw.

Most people own deadly weapons for self-defense purposes. Right now, the dodgers' pitching is starting to be assaulted by other clubs and it's time to grab the gun underneath the mattress and fire it at the intruders. I'm not a gun owner, but if I heard an intruder and I had a Clayton Kershaw under my bed, I'd shoot first and call 911 later. I wish I had a photo to post of this guy, but he hasn't even been promoted to Vegas yet, which might be a good thing. There's a few good movies of his incredible curveball on youtube. It might even be on the sidebar. The Kershaw semi-automatic special may not be the right answer, but the dodgers need to act quickly before the other NL west teams catch a fire.

Turn Out the Lights so The Roach Can Come Out of the Shadows and Play

2008-05-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

As usual, the dodgers are hurting at third base. Strangely enough, the 51's aren't. Andy LaRoche, hampered by injuries at different times in portions of the last two seasons, is red hot in sweltering vegas sporting a .571 slugging percentage and an on base percentage over .500 as well. How long do us fans have to watch this Maza guy? I have nothing against him. Nomar's recovery has stalled, so what's holding the dodgers back now from calling up LaRoche to play third? Oh yeah, that guy that looks like my father-in-law that is tearing things up already. Only Furby has more homers, and he's in the top 5 on the team in almost every offensive category (6'th in hits, walks, and steals). He's practically carrying the team on his shoulders like a superstar would.

He probably cannot keep this up, but how do you take this guy out of the lineup even with LaRoche hitting like a madman? Put either DeWitt or LaRoche in the outfield? The outfield is already crowded and everyone except Andruw is playing well right now. Even Pierre has caught fire, raising his .obp this season to a respectable .352, 5'th highest on the team for guys with over 100 at bats. Torre could try resting Kent more while he's still slumping and play LaRoche at second and keep playing Hu at shortstop until Furcal returns. LaRoche at second couldn't be any worse defensively than the few times the dodgers stuck Young there. There just comes a point where you've just got to find a place for players that are performing well to play and resting the guys that can't figure out how to get it going. That philosophy should mean more rest time for Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, and a demotion to Hu despite anyone to really play shortstop until Furcal gets back, but according to the papers he's supposed to be back pretty soon so I guess that's not a big deal. I just cannot see Nomar, whenever he can actually play, defensively handling the shortstop position any better than Shea Hillenbrand handled third for that ugly period last season. With how well DeWitt and LaRoche are playing, I don't see him having any starting job. He's just a really, really expensive utility infielder with a lot of name recognition who used to win batting titles. Hu really does need time to work out his problems in Vegas. Seems to me he's pressing. Whatever it is, the strikeouts rate has gotta fall and the walks need to go up if he's gonna have anything better than a Cesar Izturis type of career.

Speaking of ugly ex-Red Sox players in the last paragraph, Mark freaking Bellhorn is playing for the dodgers double a club in Jacksonville. Please pray for the health of Jeff Kent, Chin Lung Hu, Delwyn Young, Luis Maza, Angel Chavez, Kevin Howard, Terry Tiffee, and good 'ole Ramon Martinez so that we never have to see Mr. Bellhorn in a white and blue dodger uniform.

DeWitt Insides the Park Out while Kuo K's 8

2008-05-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

I could have never guessed tonight's game would have played out like this at all. Both starters pitched horribly. O.K. that part is totally plausible. The part where Blake DeWitt aka my father in law's illegitimate stepchild hits a two run inside the park home run to give the dodgers the 5-4 lead they would hold onto for the rest of the game thanks to great pitching by Kuo, with 8 strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of relief, and nothing given up by Broxton or Saito. That was one of the most thoroughly entertaining games I've seen in a while. As soon as DeWitt crossed the plate I thought of how pissed off I was when Jose Reyes' grimacing smile trotted off to the dugout after getting an inside the parker off of Brad Penny a few years back and how this was ample payback for that day. Maybe Kuo's performance gets him another look see in the rotation. Maybe DeWitt's great play (except for that horrid 2 error inning a few days ago) means he'll have to play his way back to Vegas instead of just being sent there as soon as LaRoche is ready, contrary to my previous post. Never can tell what's going to happen in baseball, and I wouldn't have it any other way, except for when it goes badly against the dodgers. Hopefully the winning bug stays with the dodgers, because they've got an extremely good case of it.And here is the rest of it.

What's Happened to Andy LaRoche?

2008-05-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

I keep reading comments on blogs and message boards about Andy LaRoche like he's been held back by the organization, never given a "real" chance, or that they've never been confident in him. So I've sat back and racked my brain, and Rotoworld hehe.

My memory isn't that great so like I just said I went to all the rotoworld blurbs (and related news) about LaRoche (thanks rotoworld) and the transactions from baseball-reference.com and came up with this timeline:

2006 Late September through early October: LaRoche undergoes surgery on his left shoulder he injured diving for a ball (Rotoworld and their sources including mlb.com and the latimes.com kind of conflict on which shoulder, some reports saying it was his right).

2007 February through March: LaRoche's spring training involved getting hit on the wrist, a short experiment with left field, but he ultimately doesn't make the team as the dodgers go with Betemit and Nomar instead (my memory of the sentiment at the time is that he could use another half season in AAA and should be playing come September). Looking at his numbers he tore up Vegas, in 200+ at bats in '06, but then again it's the PCL and he only played half a season in AAA, so keeping him in AAA isn't out of the ordinary or unusual.

2007 May 6'th through May 31'st: LaRoche makes his MLB debut and does decently by getting on base at a good clip while batting 8'th. He gets hit by a pitch on May 8'th but it doesn't keep him from playing.

2007 June 1: LaRoche demoted to Vegas. (My memory was that he was pulling his weight, but the pitching staff was going through a dead armed period so they needed a 12'th pitcher and keeping a guy like Abreu was more convenient because he was more versatile defensively. If James Loney hadn't shoved Nomar off third it would have been the new big game James back in Vegas despite having nothing to prove).

2007 July: LaRoche kicks major butt in Vegas.

2007 July 31'st: Dodgers trade Wilson Betemit for Scott Proctor. (My memory is that a LaRoche callup was imminent and LaRoche was finally ready to be at least a platoon partner if not making Nomar a super-utility guy, therefore Betemit was expendable to fill the need for another arm capable of going multiple innings because of the dodgers rotation shortcoming of not going deep into games, just for the same reason LaRoche got dogged for a 12'th pitcher in June). If there is any evidence that the dodgers liked LaRoche and thought he was ready, this move is the smoking gun in their confidence in LaRoche.

2007 August 10: Dodgers signed Shea Hillenbrand. An emergency signing after shipping off Betemit. Not ahead of LaRoche on the depth chart at third base. Shea was playing third at Vegas while LaRoche was not playing because of his back...again the dodgers wanted him but his body protested as we'll see in the next blurb he got at the beginning of September.

2007 September 2: Andy LaRoche gets called up to the Dodgers!

He would have been called up sooner but was delayed by his back...which was kind of the smoke signal that probably prompted the dodgers to sign Hillenbrand in August.

2007 September 12: Andy LaRoche isn't available to start right now because of the same back problems that delayed his callup. (LaRoche was hurt. He was handed the chance to earn the job but his back kept him from taking advantage of it. They promoted him anyway and he just couldn't play. I don't see any conspiracy or lack of confidence in the timeline to this point, to the contrary they are pushing the job at LaRoche and he happened to get hurt at around the same time).

2007 September 15: LaRoche declares he won't have back surgery for a protruding disc in his back.

2007 October through November: LaRoche kicks butt as a member of Team USA.

2008 January 16'th: GM declares LaRoche and Nomar on equal footing for the third base job. around the same time there's a lot of himming and hawing on the part of Joe Torre which I guess could be the source of Jon Weisman's mistaken view that LaRoche has been held back or not given as much of an opportunity as he should have been given. Still, looking back at the timeline he just has been hurt when given the opportunity because of the back.

2008 March 7: LaRoche injures his thumb with an 8-10 week timeline for his return.

The guy is not set to return yet from his injury, but the fact that Nomar is ready to come back from a different injury is a sign that the dodgers are holding LaRoche back? I don't get that line of thinking and can only look at the timeline and type again that it seems to be just plain bad luck.

2008 April 14: LaRoche hopes to be sent to extended spring training. Gets sent to extended spring training on the 19'th.

2008 April 23: Begins minor league rehab assignment that's supposed to last about 20 days.

2008 May 4: LaRoche sent down to Vegas. He wasn't supposed to be back until mid-May. I don't see the big deal. I don't hear LaRoche declaring himself 100%. The kid didn't get a real spring training due to his thumb and it's understandable with the game's 2'nd best third base prospect to be cautious with him, given his injury history and all.

Maybe in this timeline I missed something the dodgers did or said about LaRoche that would indicate they lost faith in him. I think the trade of Betemit at the deadline spoke volumes in their confidence in LaRoche at third base as at least Nomar's backup. The fact that he happened to injure his back right around the same time he's given the job is just bad luck.

He'll be back soon. I'm sure he'll get the callup and the chance to win the third base job. Let's just hope he doesn't happen to get hurt again shortly after that opportunity is given.

I Can't Jinx them now

2008-05-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

So the dodgers were losing pretty badly two weeks ago that pissed me off enough not to post. Just as quickly, they ignited and burned through opponents like a SoCal forest fire. The hottest of them all arguably was Matt Kemp, who was recently named NL player of the week. So now I wasn't posting so as not to jinx them on their win streak. Well now they've lost a few days ago and won the next game right away last night.

So now that I can't be jinxing, here's a few thoughts:

Billingsley's stuff looked great, and he seemed a heck of a lot more confident in himself. His curve was really missing bats and his two seamer was hitting its spots low in the zone. Most importantly, no fifth inning meltdown.

It was extremely exciting to watch Martin play third base. It just underscores the fact that the guy is just a very exciting and enthusiastic player no matter where he plays.

The outfield situation is getting kind of weird as everyone except the 36 million dollar man that was supposed to save the dodgers with his power is the only guy not producing. Ethier again is getting the short end of the stick.

I don't know whether Andruw Jones has just lost it or is just going through a really, really bad slump. With the dodgers winning despite his struggles, I guess he's got more of a leash to get himself out of it than he might have otherwise. Hopefully management is smart enough to trade Pierre as soon as someone asks about him while he's playing well. Center fielders are fragile and some team may soon see themselves without anyone to play there and jump at Pierre with the hopes he doesn't turn back into a pumpkin.

It would really be for the best as Delwyn Young doesn't look like he's cut out to be a pinch hitter at age 25. He could use more regular at-bats to show one way or another whether he can be a fourth outfielder. If not, you go to Jason Repko. The dodgers don't need a great fourth outfielder with the very durable outfielders they have. Ethier has never been injured. Jones is also a workhorse although he's not carrying much weight right now. Kemp has no significant injury history except that shoulder scare last season. So there's just not that much time to give to a fourth outfielder.

Blake DeWitt hit his first homer last night. It was funny to see the silent treatment he got, which almost entirely mimicked the video game cinematic in MLB The Show '07 and '08 where the player walks back into the dugout to everyone ignoring him until he reaches the end of the bench and his entire team mobs him. The homer went to dead center and it got there quickly. Beltran didn't even make an attempt at catching it. It was a good night for him especially after his embarrassing start where he made a couple of errors in one inning and just couldn't seem to do anything right. Maybe they can try to get DeWitt to play second...

Nah, there's probably a good reason he was moved off second in the minors...

Blake DeWitt: A Good Problem To Have

2008-04-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Go read all of the dodgers blog postings out there from a month or so ago and one thing you won't find is anything about Blake DeWitt making the club, much less playing decently there everyday. His line isn't stellar save for the .383 .obp and the sample size isn't big enough yet to come to any future conclusions, but given that he's never played a game over double A you've got to give my father in law's doppelganger credit for makin the most out of injuries to both Nomar and LaRoche. The short term question is what does the team do when Nomar comes back from his rehab assignment? The more interesting, longer term question is what does the team do once LaRoche is again healthy?

DeWitt, if he keeps up his production, might possibly represent a piece the dodgers could use to acquire some more pitching if they still believe LaRoche is the man at third in their long term plans. But heck, maybe they could move him back to second. That doesn't look all that likely when looking at his minor league stats, but then again I don't know if he was moved to third because of defensive inability to handle third or because of LaRoche being coronated already as the third baseman of the future.

All I know is the kid plays pretty hard. He's also very selective at the plate. He's definitely a good problem for the dodgers organization to have. Being that the dodgers didn't even try to play LaRoche at second base in the minor leagues probably means he can't player there. What I hope does not happen is that DeWitt is traded away by himself for peanuts. DeWitt is special in the sense that he's the first player that will have shown and proved himself at the MLB level and then become expendable because a superior talent is already there in LaRoche. Teams will be heavily interested in either. LaRoche may have the injury prone tag slapped on him by other clubs, but he isn't the second best third baseman prospect for no reason. DeWitt's wart is probably the lack of demonstrated power at the mlb level (he's got decent but not great power numbers in the minors), but teams will still be intrigued because of his on base skills and his apparent skills against some pretty tough major league pitching. Eventually one of 'em will have to go, but today is not that day.

That Win I was Wishing for Comes One Day Later

2008-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it would have been better if the blowout would have come at Peavy's expense, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, or at his thighs. The newest incarnation of the dodgers proved to themselves they could all kind of hit at the same time in an 11-1 victory over the Padres. The 11 runs represents probably about 5-6 starts worth of Lowe's usual run support. Other highlights include my father in law's doppelganger making a great barehanded field and throw on a grounder. He looks less like my father in law now that he's cut off the facial hair, but when he concentrates he still has that slight scowl that represents the usual facial expression of my father-in-law. Also Hu, another young dodger I'm rooting for keeps managing to do well with the time that is given him. If the dodgers build on the momentum of this win, then Joe Torre won't feel the need to keep trying to play Pierre over Kemp to get something started (Kemp homered last night!).

Oh, and last night I watched the San Diego feed of the Pads/Dodgers game and I have to say Matt Vasgersian is a homer-ish ninny. I never listen to him at Petco except for over the PA system in the concourse on the way to our seats. I do hear his voice on the MLB The Show video games which he isn't annoying because he's stealing mostly all of Vin Scully's lines. From admonishing dodger fans for having a young child in box seats, to how Derek Lowe didn't really want to be a dodger, to Blake DeWitt being obviously overmatched by Chris Young, just before he crushed a ball down the line for a 2 rbi double. So Matt, here's hoping a job in Los Angeles never opens up for you.