What the World Series Taught Me
The Hot Stove League is heating up already. I get a sneakin' suspicion that just about every decent pitcher or bat will be linked in one way or another to Southern California, either through the Dodgers or Angels. In this case, it's Aramis Ramirez, who at 28 is now one of the prime FAs on the market. 35-homer power, .300 hitter, good glove. Signing him would theoretically bump Andy LaRoche and/or Wilson Betemit out of a position. You guys all know how I feel about trading prospects for proven commodities, and that's what this would do. If Ramirez fits in the budget, go get him.
This year's World Series will likely show people the value of finding a way — any way — into the playoffs. The Cards were probably the best 83-win team in a long time. (Injuries and a weak back end of the rotation made it hard to win consistently. Once guys got healthy, they were better, and then they were able to only throw their three best starters. How the bullpen resurrected itself, I have no idea.) But they were still pretty weak, especially heading into the postseason. Yet they put it together, got hot and won. It was a long shot, but it happened.
There's no reason a similar thing couldn't have happened to the Dodgers. In a sport like baseball, where one hot starter or a pair of hot bats (Yadier Molina?) can carry a team, if you can get in to the playoffs, strange things can happen. I'm curious as to how often we'll hear teams reference the '06 Cards at the deadline next season. Just trying to make that move that gets them into the final eight.
—BK
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Ned Colletti, please sign A. Ramirez.
As much as I like the youth movement, LaRoche hasn't proven anything, and Betemit didn't exactly impress anyone last season.
Power at the corners. Isn't that what everyone has been saying the Dodgers need? Well, he's the one. The dude opted out of a contract that would have paid $11-12 million the next two years, so he definitely won't be cheap, but for such a 'perfect fit', Colletti needs to make room for his $15 million contract.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | October 30, 2006 at 05:31 PM
What the World Series Taught Me: The closer a pitcher reside to Lake Michigan, the less likely he is to properly field and throw a ball to a base.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | October 30, 2006 at 07:00 PM
AK Wrote: "...What the World Series Taught Me: The closer a pitcher reside to Lake Michigan, the less likely he is to properly field and throw a ball to a base..."
DUDE...whatever you have you had access to during, and apparently after the series...WE ALL WANT SOME!! hehehehe... ;) Actually fielding is not longer a prerequisite to being a MLB pitcher.
Speaking of Barry Bum...did you know that according to ESPN's numbers Dodger Stadium was the 7th EASIEST place to hit a homerun?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor?sort=HRFactor&season=2006
Of the top 5 of those stadiums which is the mostly likely place for His 'Roidness to play next season? I am wondering about Wrigley???
Posted by: grumpy3b | October 30, 2006 at 07:12 PM
BK:
AR opting out of his contract might be a good sign that he wants to WIN vs. make top $$$...I seriously doubt he thinks he'll get significantly more in the the short term but will likely be looking for a 4-6 yr deal at around the same $11M but with a team that has a chance at winning.
such a signing would certainly free up some talent to trade for a decent SP and maybe (in a perfect world) V.wells.
I wonder if Toronto would be interested in a package that included Drew? Though, he really had an OK season and solid 2nd half. But, to me it makes sense to move him now while he still might have value somewhere like Toronto where they could DH him to help keep him fresher and healthier.
Much as I like the talent/potential of the rookies, I don't think the Dodgers can count on an explosion of hitting from the rookies like they had this season. Getting one or two solid bats who are good team guys would seem like a good idea. Then mix in 2-3 of the young guns and see what shakes loose.
Posted by: grumpy3b | October 30, 2006 at 07:21 PM
Man, lots of free agents on the market.
GO DODGERS!
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 30, 2006 at 08:04 PM
We already had an "Aramis Ramirez"- his name was Adrian Beltre. Put Nomar at 3rd, leave Loney at first and get a power hitting OF.
Posted by: Fish Guy | October 30, 2006 at 08:57 PM
grumpy3b-
I like your interpretation of AR's motives... but I don't buy it. Dude may get to win as a nice perk of opting out, but I'm sure he did it because he knew in a soft FA year, he could make himself another 20-25 mil over the life of his new contract.
Mike-
Yeah, there are a lot of FAs out there. Unfortunately, not a lot of impact guys, though.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | October 30, 2006 at 09:26 PM
Fish,
Beltre has never put together 3 straight years of above average production. He had on great year when it was contract time. The infield version of Drew. If you are going to pony up the same or like money, Ramirez is clearly the better option.
Ramirez would be a good acquisition for the Dodgers. With the lack of great starting pitching, he is a very attractive option. Nomar is better suited to DH and fill in at 1st in the AL. He would not last 90 games at 3rd. I like the guy but he is not the answer for the Dodgers.
Nomar money will build us a decent/above average bullpen.
Posted by: Jim | October 31, 2006 at 08:41 AM
The Cards winning is exactly what I love about the World Series. Miracles happen, and the uncertainty of who will come out on top is the best part of the whole game for me, especially when we're the underdogs.
I like Betemit, but I can also see why he would be expendable, for the right person. If nothing else, I believe that Coletti can make the right changes for us. GO DODGER BLUE!
Posted by: Jen | October 31, 2006 at 09:18 AM
What the World Series taught me:
That winning games in April and May (like the Cardinals and Tigers did)matters just as much as winning them in September (which the Cardinals and Tigers didn't do).
Posted by: duskrequiem | October 31, 2006 at 10:46 AM
BK:
You might be right and AR is banking that the cubs will pay a few million more to keep him in the fold. And at the same time if an offer from a team, say one in a warmer climate with a better history of winning, makes a decent longer term offer he might head that way instead.
It's really interesting this year given the change in the FA negotiation limitations. Maybe the changes will let players sign sooner and overall help stabalize rosters sooner.
BTW, when does Drew's opt-out option expire? His ability to walk might hinder what the Dodgers can do both via FA's and trades. Maybe so much that they won't make any significant moves until his status is set in stone...
Jim:
I agree about Beltre. But, at the same time what a shame we never got to see if he could have kept it going by staying here in the Dodger system.
And, there is no way Nomar could survive a season at 3rd. His legs are just shot. He was AWESOME at 1st last season, and would be great again with Loney playing 2-3 games/week. But I doubt Nomar would be willing to play for the same contract knowing he was not likely to get as many starts. He's too young still and should take the cash wherever it comes from.
Here is s question that comes to mind while going over the FA list...would you want the Dodger's to bring back Mota? If he could be had for an incentive sort of contract? What other former Dodger, who is or could be an FA might be helpful next season?
I was thinking Mota, of all of them, would be a really interesting player to roll the dice n. But, I really have not read a lot about the recent string of injuries over his past couple seasons. Still, he was excellent out of the pen for the Dodgers and could fill a spot if healthy. Or am I needing to find a new crack dealer and stop thinking such funny thoughts? ;)
Posted by: grumpy3b | October 31, 2006 at 11:26 AM
bmurph-
If Mota is back to throwing like the L.A. version of himself- and the dude looked awesome in the playoffs, I'd bring him back. I'd be surprised, given the state of the bullpen, if he's not on Colletti's radar.
And the deadline for Drew, I think, is basically irrelevant, since it would take an act of God to get him to opt out. I mean, if you were him, would you?
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | October 31, 2006 at 12:09 PM
This is Colletti's chance of righting DePodesta's mistake in letting Beltre walk. The Dodgers have a hole at 3rd, and a hole in the power spots in the lineup. What's not to like about Ramirez?
As for relief pitchers, other than a select few 'elite' closers, you never know what you're going to get from year to year. Most guys are hardly ever consistently great, especially when they bounce from team to team. The Dodgers just need a solid closer, and a couple of experienced, veteran guys to prop up Broxton next year. I don't think it really matters what the names are.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | October 31, 2006 at 12:32 PM
Even a less effective Mota would be better than Carrera/Tomko/Hamulack/Hendrickson.
I agree with signing A Ramirez...It would be a great acquisition and would make our TEAM that much stronger.
Potential lineup:
C Martin
1B Loney
2B Kent
SS Furcal
3B Ramirez
RF Kemp
CF V Wells/A Jones
LF Ethier
Posted by: wasabi | October 31, 2006 at 04:43 PM
Letting Beltre walk was one of DePodesta's only good moves. He negated it by signing Drew.
Posted by: Jim | October 31, 2006 at 05:53 PM
wasabi:
A problem I see in that line-up, is there does not seem to be a hitter geared to hitting 2nd. The 2-hole is huge in a line-up and I always compare to a guy like Bill Russell. Someone who has speed but is not a lead off guy and also who can handle the bat for moving runners up and also few K's...
Usually this seems to be a player who, well, learned to do the "little things" because he didn't have the game to do more. I don't see that sort of team guy in the potential line up.
Of course Furcal drives me nuts because of all his K's...even if he put the ball in play 20-30 times more that would be around 10 more times on base and could lead to 4+ more wins/season.
Did anyone else notice that Martinez filed for FA too...he is a definite KEEPER and I hope the re-sign that guy. Just too versatile to replace easily.
BTW, I see you think Drew will go in a trade for V.wells/Jones...hehehehe...one can only hope. It looks like Jones is looking for a $15M+/yr deal though. Sorry, good as he is, that is simply too much and would cost the Dodgers in other areas.
Ya know they could bring back Dave Roberts and put him in the 2-hole...that might not suck...???
Posted by: grumpy3b | October 31, 2006 at 08:58 PM
when it comes to this postseason, all I have to say is is that the starving hunt for 'big bats' has always been the failure of a team like the Dodgers and if we go and blow our load on a Soriano or a (gulp) Sheffield or even a Carlos Lee, I think we're going to see the tragic effects of this misindentification with the character of our ballclub. This is - even when it sucks - a PITCHING team: we live and die by this aspect of our club. It may very well be this is the case for every team in baseball (I don't know - I've always only known baseball from the perspective of being a Dodger fan), but regardless I know that the security of a big bat that somehow atomizes your lineup such every manager constructs his line up around him and every opposing pitcher pitches around him, has never been the way of the Dodgers. We will only win by being the best version of ourselves. Pick up Zito and retain Maddux: pinkslip that jerk-off Beimel and monitor Broxton's progress: make sure Saito sticks around and for God's sake someone talk to Hendrickson. Let 'em all throw their stuff.
Posted by: Dylan | November 01, 2006 at 12:07 AM
Dylan,
Actually, not having to pitch around a big bat in the lineup hurts the team more. Pitchers do not have to make changes and alter the groove that they try to get into. Generally they have to throw more pitches and not only does that get you to their bullpen quicker but, the more pitches thrown also increases the likelyhood of a mistake. A hitter like Pujols makes the guys around him better. No one feared our lineup or pitched around anyone and we got mowed down piecemeal. Soriano, Lee, or especiallly not Sheffield are not the answer nor are they desired by most Dodger fans. Aramis Ramirez or Vernon Wells are the two best solutions for our impact bat and both play a position that the Dodgers are very weak in.
I agree, we do need better pitching if this team is going to be more consistant and perhaps win a playoff series.
FIX THE BULLPEN!!
Posted by: Jim | November 01, 2006 at 08:54 AM
Half agree with you Jim- letting Beltre go was done of Depodesta's few good moves. The guy's been horrible offensively for Seattle, worse than Drew was this year in LA. I, however, am still happy to have JD Drew on this team. He has reasonable power(although last year was one of his weaker), and consistently hits for good average, and gets on base. This year he's shown that with smart management, it's also still possible for him to stay fit- he's now played 140+ in two of the last three years. Stick with JD, and forget beltre asap!
Posted by: Asa | November 01, 2006 at 09:46 AM
Jim, in light of Beltre's mediocre performance with Seattle, I understand where you're coming from, but the Dodgers haven't had a good fielding/big bat at the hot corner since 2004. Asking Jose Valentin to replicate half of Beltre's '04 numbers was a huge mistake.
ESPN has an article shedding a little more light on the situation with Matsuzaka. Any interested MLB team can submit a bid to Bud Selig in the form of a 'posting fee', and the highest bidder will then have the opportunity to negotiate a contract with the pitcher (agent: Boras). If the two sides reach an agreement, the posting fee goes to Matsuzaka's current Japanese team, but if no contract is signed, the money is returned.
Next year, however, Matsuzaka becomes an unrestriced FA, and a massive bidding war could become a reality, so Boras really has no incentive to get this guy signed with a major league club this winter. The posting fee is estimated to be $30+ million, and the guy is expected to command a minimum of $10 million a year.
Last season was supposed to be a rebuilding year, which the Dodgers miraculously turned into an 88 win season. Although the young players put up some impressive numbers, there are only two guys who the team can count on for an entire year (Martin, Broxton), and two other guys who should be good, but aren't a lock (Ethier, Billingsley). The others have lots of promise, but according to Ned Colletti's original timeline, 2007 is when he starts playing for real, and in a race for the championship, 'potential' isn't going to cut it. Bottom line, Colletti needs to be aggressive at the bargaining table, and McCourt needs to open up the checkbook to accomodate a couple of large contracts. If not, it's going to be pretty difficult to improve on 2006.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | November 01, 2006 at 09:57 AM
from BK:
"Much as I like the talent/potential of the rookies, I don't think the Dodgers can count on an explosion of hitting from the rookies like they had this season. Getting one or two solid bats who are good team guys would seem like a good idea. Then mix in 2-3 of the young guns and see what shakes loose."
Who on the FA market IS a 'solid bat,' though? - I really don't trust Soriano and Fish might be right when he says AR is the next Seattle-Beltre: these are guys who thrived at very convenient times in very specific environments. Not that these players really have control over their sudden 'explosions' of hitting, but regardless it seems like guys like these are the epitome of streaky players, if only at the level of single-season streaks over streaks within a season.
I'm just sure who out there on the market is sustainable; who can grow WITH (as Furcal did in 06 and Drew seems to finally be doing with his solid OBPs) the Dodgers? The idea of 'big bats' makes me nervous because it sounds like the FOX era of the Dodgers - an anti-chemistry approach less explicit than DePodesta's version, but nonetheless damning to a team like the Dodgers, who do the best when they trust their own stuff - their farm system and the players they have.
I agree we gotta somebody offensively, I just feel Colletti needs to astute when it comes to who will work best as a Dodger.
Posted by: Dylan | November 02, 2006 at 02:57 PM
Dylan-
You're right, there aren't that many middle of the order bats on the FA market. I was also referring to the possibility of a trade, bringing in proven talent for some of the kids. I think it would be a mistake for Colletti to channel his inner Bill Stoneman and become so protective of the prospects that he passes up an opportunity to get better.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | November 02, 2006 at 04:15 PM
Dylan:
I just had my post answering you go "poof"...d'oh!! :)
But, anyway, when I wrote that to BK about getting a couple solid bats who are good team guys, I was meaning they should not be afraid to trade some unproven talent for talent that is good all around not necessarily over the top. But, just don't go overboard on a FA or two and trade away the future they began rebuilding again this year.
It might be all they need is to get a guy like Ramirez and move Ethier into the 2-hole....but, Ramirez is far from a lock game wise and an example of what I see could go wrong...a la Beltre for Seattle. Some days I think it's better just to live with the young guys and bring in a Nomar kinda guy every other year or whatever, just to nudge the playerette's along the way. I think that way simply because they know the kids they bring along.
But, I agree, try and sign AR and then use a couple of the kids to grab V.wells (I just like him more then Jones and dunno why for sure). AFter that they must fill the pen that was why I thought Mota is a very interesting option and even more so now that he is a screw up!! hehehehe...but sign a guy like Mota for a ridiculusly low deal (hope he has a great year), do whatever to keep both Saito & Gagne, and KEEP Biemel, Biemel blew it big time but, and I mean but, I would bet everyone who posts here has done something equally stoopid in their life (or will eventually) and need that 2nd chance...give it to him then fill in with Hendrickson & whoever...Then all that remains is to put Penny on Tommy Lasagna's miricle diet and work him every day until he drops then work him some more, add another SP (looks like they need TWO not one unless they can bring back Maddux...) and all will be beautiful....I am just leary of signing big name FA pitchers...
See it would be so eaaaasssyyyy to "fix" the Dodgers...all they need to do is read this blog!! :D
Posted by: grumpy3b | November 02, 2006 at 06:20 PM
ARAMIS RAMIREZ SUCKS. DO NOT SIGN HIM.
He plays for the CUBS, the WORST team in the national league. Signing a free agent from the worst team is never a good idea.
Also, he failed to protect Derek Lee when he was healthy. How could the Cubs be so bad with Derrek Lee on the team? Answer: Aramis Ramirez
I don't know about you guys, but I watch Cubs games all the times, because for some reason I get Chicago sports in my cable. He never gets clutch hits, and he never provides a spark.
DO NOT SIGN ARAMIS RAMIREZ
Posted by: Steve M. | November 06, 2006 at 01:33 PM
Steve,
Interesting Take. Insider Info Maybe. Hope Ned is checking it out thouroughly.
Posted by: Jim | November 06, 2006 at 10:33 PM