The Blue's "Miguel Cabrera-free era" continues
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Unless, of course, the Detroit Tigers acquired Florida's third baseman with the intent of flipping him L.A.'s way, but I'm not counting on it. The offseason's first blockbuster deal was arguably a bigger So Cal loss for the Angels than the Dodgers (BK would certainly concur), but any way you slice it, the move leaves the Dodgers cruising a buffet many would label light on meaty sustenance and heavy of empty calories. O's lefty Erik Bedard aside (whose services reportedly require Jonathon Broxton's in a too costly exchange), the Dodger options of note mostly remain free agent outfielders Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand. Nice additions, in theory, but only if they're willing to take short term deals. Should that point of contention prove an impasse, Ned Colletti might find himself putting out a team remarkably similar to 2007's. And is that necessarily such a bad thing?
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Since it looks like were commiting to the "youth movement", can we get a swingset in the centerfield bleachers?
Posted by: benzo jones | December 05, 2007 at 10:27 AM
There is still a lot of offseason left, so I am not going to assume that LA's 2008 roster is set. Fatty Cabrera would have been a huge pain anyway ... says a fan of the team the didn't acquire him. Jones is still a bigger priority. He along with Bedard or Haren and the Japanese arm and an upgrade at 3B would make for a heck of a great offseason. I still think Blalock would be a good fit. I am sure Glaus is ready to return to SoCal. Iguchi can't possibly be the answer ... right? I'll tell you this right now, Kershaw better end up being freaking Koufax! And if we end up holding on to Kemp, he better end up being the second comming of Mays. The Dodgers are putting a lot of stock in to unproven players. By the way, Broxton was a mess as a closer last year and ran out of gas late in the year, and it seems to me that Billingsly actually throws more pitches than Ramon Martinez. I'm not saying to give up on these young guys, but remember hollandsworth won a ROY, Ashley was supposed to be a masher in the bigs, Brock was supposed to be good enough to replace the Garv, Dreifort was as highly a touted prospect as anyone, Mondesi had all "five tools," Edwin Jackson was untouchable, Joel Guzman was supposed to be a perinial all-star; and the list goes on and on. Something to think about ...
Posted by: Paul Simonds | December 05, 2007 at 11:51 AM
Torre was hired as a stop-gap solution while grooming Mattingly as his successor. MCourt and Colletti did not lure Torre west with the "Let the young guys develop" angle. If they Dodgers intend to win now, then they must spend the money to win now. Anyone who thinks Matt Kemp gives the Dodgers a better chance as CF and primary power hitter than Andruw Jones is delusional.
And statistics that "prove" Loney and Kemp are consistent power/average hitters are ambiguous given that a healthy chunk of their numbers were accrued during the month of September when teams play their expanded roster players and the veterans are taking a break or playing on fumes. Loney and Kemp are still young and neither has played for an entire season against all of the good pitchers.
Posted by: bigyoonit | December 05, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Hey Ned, the K Brothers have it right, listen to them. Buy a pitcher or two but put out the "No help wanted" sign in the OF. Kemp belongs in center field, period. Rotate Pierre, Ethier and Repko (remember him?) until the cream rises to the top. My money is on Ethier landing the permanent RF job if he is still here. Everybody sells him short and I can't understand why. Add Repko and you have a fast strong-armed OF. Pierre will get plenty of time after Repko hits the wall a few times and goes on the DL. Put LaRoche at third and use Nomar to rest him and Loney. If you play Nomar at about 3 games a week, he will stay healthy and productive all year. Add Kent and yes, you will get 120-140 dingers and close to a .300 average from the starters if you play them all year. I wouldn't trade two of the kids for a .211 hitter with less than 30 home runs. Let spring training dicate the final lineup but it should be good enough for the post-season.
Posted by: Jack | December 05, 2007 at 12:28 PM
Really?! C'mon, Repko shouldn't even be mentioned as a viable option; who knows if he can even catch up to a fastball anymore, much less last more than 10 minutes in the outfield. I'm fine if you want to go with the youth movement, but realize the play-offs are a longshot.
Posted by: Paul Simonds | December 05, 2007 at 01:40 PM
After all this talk, trade, sign, trade, sign, etc.....Theories, Suppositions, etc.....For now, my money is on the Youth Movement. I rather stick out a couple of more years and see how Joe develops this players. Remember that guy ???, a guy that sort of gave birth to Jeter, Bernie, Posada, etc.......the key to their development was 'PLAYING TIME AND TRUST" Not expecting the same results he gave those damn yankees, but hey, I am willing to take that chance rather than depleting our core of young, TALENTED players for a lazy (MIGGY) and overated, expensive (JOHAN).... Word is that Miggy started his weight loss and training program, REALLY?????? and if he does, good for him.....WE got to trust our players and we'll see if they turn out to be solid players and perhaps, ALL STARS !!!!
Posted by: JC Blue | December 05, 2007 at 02:02 PM
Blalock would be a mistake. He's a career .243 hitter away from hitter-friendly Ameriquest field. He's also a career .226 hitter against lefties.
His career numbers home and away:
Home: 1391 at bats - .303 BA 71 HR 258 RBI .525 slg%
Away:1393 at bats -.243 BA 44 HR 173 RBI .398 slg%
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6871/splits;_ylt=AhEOCF.q._G9ZdgXO8IvQHGFCLcF?year=career&type=Batting
Posted by: bt1 | December 05, 2007 at 02:02 PM
IT HAS BEEN SOME SAD DAYS FOR DODGER FANS AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL CONTINUE FOR SOMETIME AS LONG AS NED COLLETTI IS THE GM.I WOULD LIKE TO AGREE WITH MOST OF WHAT PAUL SIMONDS HAD TO SAY,I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD THE NAMES OF SCOTT ELBERT WHO WAS HURT THIS PAST YEAR AND GREG MILLER WHO WAS HURT IN 06.THEY BOTH WERE SUPPOSE TO BE WHAT CLAYTON KERSHAW IS NOW.GREG MILLER WAS LISTED BY BASEBALL AMERICA AS EDWIN JACKSON AD THIS PAST YEAR WAS DEMOTED FROM LAS VEGAS TO JACKSONVILLE AND CAN NOT GET THE BALL OVER THE PLATE NOW.
Posted by: TONY | December 05, 2007 at 02:05 PM
S Boras and A Jones think they're gonna get just as much if not more money than Tori Hunter got from the Angels. ? Fine - good luck to the both of you - slam the phone in Boras' ear, Ned. Aside from turning up on the Mitchell List, we don't need an aging (fast) OFer on the downside of his career to throw a bunch of money at. Dodgers could do MUCH more with said money than using it to overpay A Jones.
Posted by: ALS | December 05, 2007 at 02:10 PM
TONY - The Caps Lock button is over to the left, above the Shift key - USE IT.
Posted by: ALS | December 05, 2007 at 02:15 PM
Now that you mention it, I like the idea of Nomar as utilityman/pinch hitter extraordinaire. He can play third, he can play first, he can play short, and you have to assume that he can play second as well, since he seems to be able to play anywhere in the infield. How about he comes in once a week for each of the infielders until we see what LaRoche is made of? Certainly Kent could use a day off every week. Furcal usually gets hurt. And LAroche will probably have a tough time with crafty veterans like Randy Johnson or JAmie Moyer.
Plus Nomar would hit a whole lot better than Ramon Martinez. He said, when he came here, that he'd play anywhere to help the team. Well, anywhere includes everywhere, so let's see it. It also rids us of Olmedo Saenz, who was great when he was great, but simply awful the past year.
Posted by: SaMo | December 05, 2007 at 02:56 PM
Are the Dodgers looking for a playmate for Jeff Kent in inquiring about Scott Rolen. Rolen couldn't get along with LaRussa and fought with Larry Bowa (now a Dodger coach) in Philly. Oh, a perfect fit.
Maybe they feel Torre can take care of it, but I'm leery of malcontents twice-over.
Posted by: Chunkdog32 | December 05, 2007 at 03:01 PM
The playoffs are out of the question Simonds? Where were you last year? Did you forget the fact that we were in the wild card hunt until very late in the season?
If this team is anything like last years team, the playoffs are definitly in the mix. With the kids in the lineup everyday, they'll only improve. not enough proof for you Simonds? Look at what Loney and Kemp have done. Kemp improved big time over his '06 call up, and Loney looked amazing given the chance. Not to mention a healthy furcal, a still improving Billingsley, a hopefully a healthy Schmidt, and we're still a very good team.
I say get a couple more arms and let me have fun watching the kids play. It's funny how people tend to break into two camps. There are those of us that think we're better off with the kids, because they're GOOD players, and then some people think we should go after every "name" that has ever put up a decent season. Just because someone is named Jones, Bedard, Blalock, or Rowand doesn't change their stats. People like Simonds might THINK they're better, but your perceptions are based on hype, not facts.
Posted by: nathan118 | December 05, 2007 at 03:38 PM
It should not be a suprise to Dodger fans that Colletti has not made a deal yet - THE DODGER OWNER HAS NO MONEY!! McCourt is not willing to pay ANYONE $20 million a year, which is what it would take to land someone like Santana. Don't you get it? THE KIDS ARE CHEAP! Don't be surprised if Andruw Jones goes elsewhere too! Listen to what Colletti says, "too much money and too many years on the contract demands of Jones, et.al." They won't trade for Scott Rolen either. The Dodger Plan is to keep promising to spend money they don't have and would not spend anyway. Sooner or later the Dodger fans will figure it out and just simply walk away from a storied franchise that was sold to a small market owner who really can't and won't play with the big boys. Its a shame.
Posted by: BBiggs | December 05, 2007 at 04:16 PM
Thank goodness NedCo had the sense to NOT trade away half the team for Piggy Cabrera. Six prospects for two players?! That's insane. It is not a bad thing - in fact, I would say it is a good thing if we see a team similar to the '07 club. 2007 was Russell Martin's first full year, and 2008 will be James Loney and Matt Kemp's first full seasons. I am excited to see how big a difference Joe Torre and his staff will make on the young Dodger team.
Looking ahead, you must remember that 4 out of the Dodgers top 5 money makers are in their walk years: Kent, Furcal, Nomar, and D-Lowe. I'd like to see the Dodgers tough it out this year, while looking forward to filling in the holes via free agency in 2009. They just might surprise us in 2008.
And Paul Simonds -
Believe me, I am as cynical a Dodger fan as the next guy, but for every Greg Brock and Edwin Jackson that didn't pan out, there are guys like Mike Piazza and Eric Karros who carried the team for years. Every team has "can't miss prospects" who are busts. Grooming young talent is the Dodger way (re: the 1970's). I for one am excited that it has made a comeback.
bigyoonit -
Why is it delusional for me to think that having a .250 hitter in the middle of the Dodger lineup is a bad thing? Matt Kemp is on the rise and Andruw Jones is on the decline. And remember, Andruw Jones had a lower OBP than Juan Pierre last year... Plus he spells his name incorrectly, and that has always bothered me.
Posted by: Higgins | December 05, 2007 at 04:19 PM
RE: Trading away 6 prospectas for 2 players.
If those 2 players fill the final holes and the Tigers win it all, then are crap for 5 years after--is that bad??? Look at the Marlins. They are around for only about 12 years and have already won two world series!!! They matched up kids with 'overpriced' vets and won it all. Then they dumped everyone and are the worst team in baseball. So whose plan is better theirs or ours????
David
Posted by: David | December 05, 2007 at 04:47 PM
Higgins-
Jones's game may be in decline but it isn't a precipitous drop. He's lost a step on defense but he's still an all-star caliber defender. Offensively, he played all year with an injured shoulder yet he still put up better power numbers than any Dodger.
Also, Kemp's partial 2007 season may be an indication of what we Dodger fans HOPE he will bring all year long but he's too green to tell. With Jones, you can expect .250/30+HR/100+RBI. Plus he has the superb glove that Kemp cannot ever match, given his lack of instinct and recognition.
Best of all, Jones costs dollars not prospects. If the Dodgers cannot land Bedard with Kemp + someone not named Broxton, then Kemp stays and plays, but bye-bye Eithier.
Posted by: bigyoonit | December 05, 2007 at 05:11 PM
bigyoonit -
Here's what I mean by "on the decline"
Here are some key Andruw Jones stats over the last three seasons (listed as 2005, 2006, 2007):
HR: 51, 41, 26
SO: 112, 127, 138
OPS: .922, .894, .724
Outfield Assists: 11, 4, 3
His homerun numbers have drastically dropped each season, he is striking out with much more regularity each season, his OPS has dropped 200 points since 2005, and he only made one more assist than Matt Kemp made last year... and Jones played in 154 games! (Speaking of his "all-star caliber defense," here's another fun fact for you: Andre Ethier had twice as many assists than Matt Kemp AND Andruw Jones COMBINED with 10.)
Over the last three seasons, I'd call that a "precipitous drop"... and it's only going to continue. NOT WORTH free agent dollars... especially since (as of right now) a partial list of 2008-2009 free agent outfielders includes names like Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, and Vladimir Guerrero. Give Kemp a chance this year!
Posted by: Higgins | December 05, 2007 at 05:36 PM
Hey, does Brandon Inge excite any of y'all for the hot corner? I hear he's suddenly looking for work..
Posted by: rat | December 05, 2007 at 06:32 PM
Hey BK
What are the chances of the Dodgers trading for Troy Glaus? I'm sure he will be cheaper than Cabrera and you probably won't have to trade Kemp or Loney for him.
Trade for Glaus and sign Andrew Jones two legitimate power bats, and then you add Kemp, Loney, and Martin in the mix. Why not? Because at this point even the Detroit Tigers have a better line-up than the Dodgers. The TIGERS! That's embarrassing.
Posted by: dcerros | December 05, 2007 at 06:38 PM
ha, the tigers have a better lineup than a lot of teams. ordonez sheffield and cabrera. guillen at short and palanco at second (hit 330 somethin)and ivan rodriguez. i think they hav a pretty solid lineup.
on another note, i agree with an earlier post that stated the dodgers should wait and see how the youth plays out this year, because not only will we hav some money to play with (with some of our highest paid players in their walk year) and it seems there will be a stronger free agent class to work with (assuming that they arent resigned by their current clubs).
p.s. im surprised at how many assists ethier had this past year. thats pretty cool info higgins
Posted by: joeshmo | December 05, 2007 at 07:19 PM
Dcerros,
Toronto is HURTING for a shortstop. I'm sure that a 2 out of 3 combination of Hu/Abreau/LaRoche would be enough to get it done. As a matter of fact, it is rumored that the Jays have been talking to the evil Gints for a Alex Rios for Tim Linsecum or Matt Cain deal. If Ned could offer a package of LaRoche, Hu, Meloan, and James McDonald for Alex Rios & Troy Glaus, I think J.P. Riccardi just might jump. Toronto really wants pitching, too.
I am a big Alex Rios fan, but after Troy has been playing on the unforgiving turf of the Rogers Centre for the last 3 years, though, I would stay away from the injury-prone Glaus. And another reason to stay away from Troy Glaus is that Senator Mitchell's Steroid report is due to be released before Christmas this year. If I were Ned, I would wait until the report and all its subsequent names are released, because the last thing you would want would be to trade away a bunch of A & B level prospects for a juiced-up veteran who has just been indicted by an "independent" council.
Just my $0.02, folks...
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 05, 2007 at 08:52 PM
Assists is not always a good measure of an outfielders arm strengh and accuracy. The best throwing outfielders often don't get too many chances to throw runners out, because players are often reluctant to test their arms. Of course, when they hit the ball into right or left center against the Dodgers, their eyes light up when they see Pierre moving over to field the ball.
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 05, 2007 at 08:52 PM
AK/BK,
I have gotten three or four "verify your comments" messages in the last few days. Hope this doesn't continue. Doesn't the site upload a cookie to my computer telling it I'm not an automated robot (although some people might characterize me as such).
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 05, 2007 at 08:56 PM
Rat,
Brandon Inge manning the hot corner for the Dodgers next season is as exciting to me as a 4 hours "Girls Gone Wild" special featuring Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Bea M.F. Arthur!!!!
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MMPH/246443~The-Golden-Girls-Posters.jpg
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 05, 2007 at 08:59 PM