Would Walter O'Malley approve of Andrew Jones?
After all, we're talking about a Hall of Fame former owner. Or a soon-to-be HOFer, to be specific. The man who brought the Dodgers west and oversaw the breaking of baseball's color barrier was voted in by the Veteran's Committee Monday morning. O'Malley, who died in 1979, received nine of twelve votes, the minimum for qualification. Needless to say, O'Malley's son Peter (and the rest of the clan) are psyched! Ain't no party like a HOF party.
In other news, the Dodgers have apparently ramped up their interest in Andrew Jones. While I can't say he'd be my first choice to take over centerfield, that the Blue are hoping to get Jones to sign for only two years (perhaps at a higher salary... but it's not my money) makes it a lot more appealing.
BK
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The addition of Andruw Jones (or any outfielder FA, for that matter) can only improve the team if Juan Pierre is replaced. Maybe something is in the works, but it's highly improbable that any team would make a balanced trade for Pierre.
If either Kemp or Ethier are bumped from the roster to accommodate Jones, I don't see it as such a great improvement over what the Dodgers have so far.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | December 03, 2007 at 12:16 PM
lets wait until the Mitchell Report is out later this month and see if Jones, Rowand or any other overachieving players are named to be using steroids or any performance enhancing drugs. Maybe their value will go down lower.
Posted by: Sung | December 03, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Makoto,
It seems so clear to us on the blog that Pierre is the 4th or 5th best outfielder on the roster now. Why are they eager to take on another outfielder? It sure seems that we are stuck with Pierre for another 4 yrs. Maybe a trade in the works? I don't like it!
Lex
Posted by: Lex | December 03, 2007 at 01:06 PM
I think O'Malley would lament the fact that so many players move around these days. He's from an era where guys stuck with their team, and didn't move every 2-3 years.
How unique would it be if we grew a team from the ranks?
Baseball/Life/Dishwashers were so much more simple and better in O'Malley's era.
Posted by: benzo jones | December 03, 2007 at 01:23 PM
It's hard to see the other So Cal team getting headlines every week and all we have done is hire a manager. The last time I looked Joe dosen't hit or run like he once did. We need a starting picture (maybe 2) and a middle of the line up right handed power hitter. Kent is turning into a warning track power hitter, trade him to a team with a hitters ballpark and get someone that can hit 25 to 30 HR and knock in 100+ RBI's. Getting rid of Kent will also improve the locker room problems. Jim
Posted by: Jim Boone | December 03, 2007 at 02:12 PM
i'd sign andruw for 2 at $38MM or 3 at $50MM LONG before giving Rowand 5 at $70MM+... but thats just me.
Posted by: dodgrdog88 | December 03, 2007 at 02:17 PM
Jones is a nice fit, only if he is acompanied by a 3B. There are rumors out there that indicate Blalock could be on the way, and considering the price for Fatty Cabrera, Jones plus Blalock plus the Japanese arm, plus maybe even Haren or Blanton would equal a heck of an offseason.
Posted by: Paul Simonds | December 03, 2007 at 02:33 PM
Word on the street is that the Dodgers and Rangers are talking a trade for 3B Hank Blalock....
Also, Jason Stark notes that, "Clubs talking to the Red Sox about Coco Crisp report that the Sox have put all those discussions on hold until the Santana trade talks have played themselves out. So those clubs are now making alternative plans. The Rangers, for instance, are believed to have kicked the tires on a group that includes Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds and Juan Pierre."
If LA is able to sign Jones for 2 years/$32MM, the Rangers could be our Juan Pierre ticket outta town.....
Posted by: Brian | December 03, 2007 at 02:36 PM
Jim,
Yeah, let's trade a 40 year old second baseman contemplating retirement for a 30 HR power hitter. Find a major league GM that will agree to those terms, and I will take you with me when I buy my next car.
Offensively, the only way the Dodgers could improve this winter is to get replace Pierre with a better outfielder and/or acquire a power hitting third baseman on the FA market (read: A-Rod). Since neither of those things will happen, the next best thing is to stand pat and make some minor adjustments to the pitching staff (another back of the rotation starter and some bullpen depth). Of course, fixing the pitching is going to be a pretty involved and expensive process as well, since mediocre starters and experienced relievers are commanding salaries in the range of 4 year/40 million dollars.
As for the Angels, I wouldn't get too worked up over the media attention they are getting. All they have done is overpay for a declining CF, and weaken their defense in order to add to their already abundant pitching. What would be frustrating is if someone does land Cabrera in a trade, since whatever the Marlins get from any other team will not nearly be as good as what they are demanding from the Dodgers.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | December 03, 2007 at 02:56 PM
What's this about Blalock ? Coming off season ending shoulder surgery.....
.....steady (if healthy) but no great power bat here. Who goes for Blalock ?
Excuse me, but did Andy LaRoche suddenly disappear from the system ?
Would take LaRoche's power potential over "surgerized" Hank any day.
btw - Dogers still have this Nomah guy lurking around 3B, for $9M no less.
So flat don't understand Blalock......
But do understand KURODA......best FA starter available that costs ZERO
in prospects, only $$$. Just my opinion, but a good off-season would be
a KURODA sign & hold the kids......plenty of FA bullpen help out there for
a price. Would hope Torre might help McCourt loosen the wallet esp as
regards paying maybe $12-15M / year for Kuroda.....3 years ?
Whatever......figure about 80% of Dice-K for 1/3 the cost. Sounds like a
bargain as regards the no 'posting fee' here.
We shall see, trade rumors worry me...terrified at what's going out the door.
Much prefer to hear about FA signings, nail down Kuroda, Ned, please,
Posted by: tommex | December 03, 2007 at 03:07 PM
2 yrs @ $32M isnt going to be enough to entice andruw OR boras. it's going to have to be closer to $40M for 2 years, or maybe abut $50M for 3. would people be accepting of a blalock for laroche and pierre deal?? blalock is coming off an injury-filled season and his production tailed off in 05 and 06, as well, before the injuries.
Posted by: dodgrdog88 | December 03, 2007 at 03:36 PM
latest rumor has blalock being talked with st. louis for rolen and chris duncan. which do you think the rangers would rather have: rolen and duncan, or pierre and laroche?
Posted by: dodgrdog88 | December 03, 2007 at 03:38 PM
For this team Jones is better then PIerre....but....What is up with management? I mean we already have KEMP, EITHIER, YOUNG, REPKO (IM A FAN OF HIM) AND PIERRE.......WHY GET JONES?.........I
this is going to be interesting what they do with the outfield....i mean even if everything stays the way it is, I wonder who they will put in the outfield......If everything stays the way it is, which 3 will they put?.....Kemp is obvious....IM sure Eithier has a good chance.....I assume Repko is gonna get another shot.....I assume Young has some shot......and I assume.....Pierre has a a shot (although I dont think this team needs him
IF it was up to me....and everyone is healthy.......and playing good in spring.....id put Kemp in left, Eithier in right, and REpko in center............folks if u know me, u know I know the Dodgers....so dont be surprised at my Repko decision.....I think this guy can play everyday.........SO does Kevin Kennedy
Posted by: ARYAN | December 03, 2007 at 04:22 PM
Aryan,
Regarding Repko. He's a player I liked a lot, and at one time I wanted to see him get a shot at playing regularly. However, Repko has a long injury history, and one which has probably compromised his stongest asset, his speed. Prior to the ankle and hamstring injuries the past two years, Repko had a serious hamstring tear in the minors.
I still think Repko can have a role as a backup outfielder, assuming he's healthy and still has most of his speed. And I love his arm. However, I seriously doubt he has a future as an everyday outfielder for the Dodgers. And as much as I've liked him in the past, he has still never played for any extended time in the big leagues. Consequently, he is still not a proven hitter (certainly there was nothing special about his minor league numbers).
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 03, 2007 at 05:12 PM
Aryan,
I agree with you on Repko but we have to see how spring training plays out with another up and coming player named Young (who I'm a big fan of). If young wins out over Repko, what would be your outfield then?
Posted by: K T USN | December 03, 2007 at 05:17 PM
Has the world gone completely insane??
16 million a year for a guy that hit .222 and that doesnt even get consideration from Borass? What would he get if he hit .280, 35 million?
It makes me sick...
Tell all these overpriced losers to get stuffed.
Posted by: Andy B | December 03, 2007 at 05:23 PM
O'malley wasn't from an era when guys stuck with their teams. O'malley was from the era of the Reserve Clause, when OWNERS OWNED THE PLAYERS. The players had no free agency. They were indentured servants. Say what you will about the big-money era, but the old days were no picnic for the players.
Posted by: ralph malph | December 03, 2007 at 06:02 PM
Makoto -
...is right on. Getting rid of Ethier and/or Kemp to make room for Jones does not improve the team.
ARYAN -
Repko can't even stay healthy every day. How is he gonna play every day?
Andruw Jones would be the last person on my list for center field (yes, even below Juan Pierre. Pierre had a higher OBP than Jones did last year too...). Call me crazy, but I just don't want to see a .250 hitter in the middle of the Dodgers lineup.
As far as Mr. O'Malley in the hall of fame goes, I'm happy to see it. However, I am very perplexed as to why Gil Hodges continues to be left out of the hall of fame every year...
Posted by: Higgins | December 03, 2007 at 06:11 PM
No No No No please don't get Andruw Jones. The guy hit .222 last year, and is a career .262 hitter. We have outfielders up the wazoo, and that $32 million is Johan Santana money. If it means losing Ethier, Kemp, or Delwyn Young, I'm even more opposed to it.
On the other hand, if somebody is stupid enough to take Juan Pierre off our hands, then I'm all for it. Jones is an upgrade over Pierre, has good power, steals bases, and covers the ocean in center field, meaning Kemp can move to left.
As for Blalock, who can say what he'll be after the surgery (Jason Schmidt alert!) but his numbers pre-surgery make him worth a whole lot more than Juan Pierre and Andy LaRoche. Best case scenario, LaRoche turns out to be Ron Cey, a .261 hitter with 23-homer a year power and 80 RBIs. Funny thing, that's exactly what Blalock has been over his career.
I see no reason why A-Rod shouldn't be the only perrson taking advantage of Tom Hicks. Check the health, but since we're willing to give up Pierre for nothing, getting Blalock in return would be a wonderful Christmas gift.
Posted by: SaMo | December 03, 2007 at 06:18 PM
why get jones? because he's already better than all of the OFers (maybe except kemp, but its too early still) they have.
the only thing repko is getting a shot at is being the 4th, or probably the 5th, OFer. how you can expect anything more from a guy who, while he does play all out, has had his last two seasons cut short or wiped out completely due to injuries because of his hard-nosed play. (there's nothing wrong with playing this way, but you see what the risks are when you try to overdo it. and it isn't like he would have made a difference had he been healthy anyway.) any combination of kemp, ethier, young and jones is already better than playing repko everyday somewhere.
btw, putting ethier in right instead of kemp is already showing a lack of knowledge on these players.
Posted by: dodgrdog88 | December 03, 2007 at 07:15 PM
This is from Tony Jackson on his blog:
"First, the rumored offer to Andruw Jones (two years, $32M) is false. It isn't clear whether any offer has been made, but there are strong indications that there hasn't been one. Second, another rumor you might have seen on the web today, that the Dodgers are talking trade with Texas for third baseman Hank Blalock, also is false. Third, I just had my first exposure to new Angels GM Tony Reagins as part of a group of writers brought up to his suite for his nightly press briefing. Man, this guy doesn't say ANYTHING. Except that he is happy with the makeup of the club as it presently stands. Over and over and over again. That's it for now."
Posted by: Brooklyn Dodger | December 03, 2007 at 07:46 PM
I said I wasn't going to chime in again until something actually happened, but I couldn't resist.
There is one reason the Dodgers are seriously looking at Andruw Jones: the team needs to add a power hitter for the middle of the lineup -- without having it cost us Matt Kemp. Do you guys see a better power option available that we can either acquire or sign without giving up any of our stud youngsters? I don't. While I'm not an Andruw Jones fan (I even live in Atlanta; not easy being a Dodger fan out here), he does provide 30-35 HRs and gold-glove defense.
The only other position where we could add some power is 3B. But who is there? An aging Tejada? An injury-prone Blalock (who can't hit lefties)? Don't even think about Scott Rolen. Which brings us back to Piggy Cabrera. We could get him -- but it would cost us Kemp among others. I'll pass on that.
If we make any trade, it should be either for Bedard or Haren. They'll cost a pretty penny (Kershaw, LaRoche and possibly two more mid-level prospects), but we'd finally have a legit No. 1 starter.
We should also sign Kuroda to solidify the No. 5 spot, since I'm not counting on much out of Schmidt in 2008.
What would you guys do? Sign Andruw Jones? Trade for Bedard or Haren? Stand pat?
Posted by: Scott True Blue | December 03, 2007 at 08:03 PM
someone mentioned that the Dodgers owe Nomar $9 million. Are there any AL teams out there who might be interested in him as a DH/corner infielder if the Dodgers eat a portion of his salary? He doesn't seem expected to play 3rd in LA.
Posted by: Howard | December 03, 2007 at 08:37 PM
As for Blalock, I was interested until I realized he's a career .243 hitter away from the hitter friendly stadium in arlington.
He has 71 HR 258 RBI home 1391 at bats
44 HR 173 RBI away 1393 at bats
Those numbers don't lie. Even Pierre would hit a couple out of there.
I am not crazy about adding Jones without subtracting Pierre. If we could trade him and cash to Texas for Benoit or another solid reliever then signing Jones would be great.
Posted by: bt1 | December 03, 2007 at 09:04 PM
Repko? Are you joking? Even if the guy could keep from breaking his neck every other month, he can't hit.
Posted by: hashpipe | December 03, 2007 at 09:39 PM