This past week the Dodgers signed Andre Ethier and James Loney to one year contracts and avoided arbitration. I am surprised they are both still with the team. Ned Colletti's decision to stand pat should be a given but at least he didn't trade them and prospects for an aging over the hill veteran.
I have hopes that Andre Ethier can return to his 30 Homerun, 100 RBI performance of a few seasons ago. The Dodgers really do not have anyone from the minors waiting in the wings and I do believe that Ethier has lost a lot of his trade value. Unless the Dodgers make a move in Spring Training, he will be the opening Rightfielder on Opening Day 2012.
I also have hopes that James Loney can finally reach his potential. He is only good for about 10-15 Homeruns a year but he should be able to hit the 100 RBI plateau. Once again, the Dodgers really do not have anyone waiting in the wings although Prince Fielder is a viable free agent option. However with the Dodgers current financial status and the ownership situation being unsettled, the Dodgers cannot afford to make a big free agent splash.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Non-Roster Invitees
The Los Angeles Dodgers list of Non-Rosters Invitees to Spring Training got a whole lot more interesting when they invited 29-year-old Third Baseman Josh Fields to Spring Training. The Dodgers really don't have a true Third Baseman on their roster right now. Fields bounced around the minors and Japan last season after coming thru the Chicago White Sox organization and spending some time with the Kansas City Royals. He will never hit for a high average but he could provide some pop at the plate and play a decent third base.
The Dodgers need another left-handed reliever. That is why lefties Alberto Castillo and Will Ledezma stand a decent chance of making the team if they have solid spring training performances. They both have major league experience.
Catcher Josh Bard is also an intriguing invitee. The Dodgers top three catchers are A.J. Ellis, Matt Treanor, and Tim Federowicz and none of them are really that impressive. Treanor and Bard have the most experience of the bunch and I don't know if any of them will hit.
The Dodgers need another left-handed reliever. That is why lefties Alberto Castillo and Will Ledezma stand a decent chance of making the team if they have solid spring training performances. They both have major league experience.
Catcher Josh Bard is also an intriguing invitee. The Dodgers top three catchers are A.J. Ellis, Matt Treanor, and Tim Federowicz and none of them are really that impressive. Treanor and Bard have the most experience of the bunch and I don't know if any of them will hit.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Ned Colletti's Whiff 'N Poof Express
I remember seeing a BC comic strip one time where a sports reporter was interviewing the manager of the BC baseball team and he asked him if his teams lineup had a nickname like "Murder's Row" or the "Gas House Gang". The BC manager replied yes, he did, they were called the "Whiff 'N Poof Express".
That comic strip reminded me of Ned Colletti's free agent acquisitions in the past several years. This years crop of Catcher Matt Treanor, and infielders Mark Ellis, Adam Kennedy, and Jerry Hairston, Jr. are all at the tail end of their careers and are all utility men at best. Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy are probably going to be penciled in as starters at Second and Third Base, respectively, and Catcher Matt Treanor may end up being the starter at Catcher.
Colletti's track record with these signings is not too good and I can use last years signing of Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons as a reference point. I can only hope that someone emerges from the non-roster invitees or the minor leagues to take over a few positions.
That comic strip reminded me of Ned Colletti's free agent acquisitions in the past several years. This years crop of Catcher Matt Treanor, and infielders Mark Ellis, Adam Kennedy, and Jerry Hairston, Jr. are all at the tail end of their careers and are all utility men at best. Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy are probably going to be penciled in as starters at Second and Third Base, respectively, and Catcher Matt Treanor may end up being the starter at Catcher.
Colletti's track record with these signings is not too good and I can use last years signing of Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons as a reference point. I can only hope that someone emerges from the non-roster invitees or the minor leagues to take over a few positions.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Los Angeles Dodgers Free Agent Acqusitions- Pitching
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed two bargain basement starting pitchers, Right Hander Aaron Harang and Lefty Chris Capuano, for the 2012 season to round out their starting rotation.
Righty Aaron Harang is 34 years old and a veteran of ten seasons. He is also a two time 16-game winner with the Cincinnati Reds and went 14-7 last season with National League West rivals San Diego Padres. He has a career 95-94 record with a 1.347 WHIP. The Dodgers need him to pitch 200+ innings and he has only done that three times in his ten seasons. The Dodgers have young, unproven arms in the minors that could pick up the innings if Harang falters or gets injured but a veteran arm would be real nice down the stretch.
Chris Capuano is a veteran lefty who missed all of the 2008 and 2009 seasons because of arm problems and that is why I am not completely sold on this signing. He is a former 18-game winner with the Milwaukee Brewers with a 1.355 WHIP and he has a career record of 57-64. Once again, they need him to pitch 200+ innings and he has only done that twice in his career. This does give the Dodgers three Lefties in their starting rotation but they don't have many left-handed pitchers in their minor league system.
It would be sweet if the Dodgers could get 20-25 wins out of Harang and Capuano but my prediction is 17 wins. To start the season the Dodgers will at least have an all veteran rotation and it will be interesting to see how far that will take them.
Righty Aaron Harang is 34 years old and a veteran of ten seasons. He is also a two time 16-game winner with the Cincinnati Reds and went 14-7 last season with National League West rivals San Diego Padres. He has a career 95-94 record with a 1.347 WHIP. The Dodgers need him to pitch 200+ innings and he has only done that three times in his ten seasons. The Dodgers have young, unproven arms in the minors that could pick up the innings if Harang falters or gets injured but a veteran arm would be real nice down the stretch.
Chris Capuano is a veteran lefty who missed all of the 2008 and 2009 seasons because of arm problems and that is why I am not completely sold on this signing. He is a former 18-game winner with the Milwaukee Brewers with a 1.355 WHIP and he has a career record of 57-64. Once again, they need him to pitch 200+ innings and he has only done that twice in his career. This does give the Dodgers three Lefties in their starting rotation but they don't have many left-handed pitchers in their minor league system.
It would be sweet if the Dodgers could get 20-25 wins out of Harang and Capuano but my prediction is 17 wins. To start the season the Dodgers will at least have an all veteran rotation and it will be interesting to see how far that will take them.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Baseball's Winter Meetings
Its the off season and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still kicking the Los Angeles Dodgers asses. The Angels have created a tidal wave at the Winter Meetings whereas the Dodgers have dropped a pebble in Old Man Kelsey's Pond (an Andy Griffith Show reference).
The Angels snuck in the back door and signed future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. The Dodgers signed utility man Adam Kennedy. The Angels signed left handed pitcher C.J. Wilson, the premier left handed starting pitcher in this years free agent crop. The Dodgers signed left hander Chris Capuano, who missed 2 1/2 years with arm trouble not too long ago, and right hander Aaron Harang to round out the starting rotation. My prediction is both will be on the Disabled List by June.
The Dodgers did make news on the trade front. They traded left hander Dana Eveland, who at least has major league experience, to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers who will probably never make it to the majors. They should have made Frank McCourt auction off Ned Colletti as part of the Dodgers bankruptcy proceedings before he left town.
The Angels snuck in the back door and signed future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. The Dodgers signed utility man Adam Kennedy. The Angels signed left handed pitcher C.J. Wilson, the premier left handed starting pitcher in this years free agent crop. The Dodgers signed left hander Chris Capuano, who missed 2 1/2 years with arm trouble not too long ago, and right hander Aaron Harang to round out the starting rotation. My prediction is both will be on the Disabled List by June.
The Dodgers did make news on the trade front. They traded left hander Dana Eveland, who at least has major league experience, to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers who will probably never make it to the majors. They should have made Frank McCourt auction off Ned Colletti as part of the Dodgers bankruptcy proceedings before he left town.
Friday, November 18, 2011
2011 Los Angeles Dodgers Review- The Rookies Part I
The Hitters
The 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers rookies were not expected to produce much going into the season as the Dodgers had veterans penciled in at every position and a veteran bench as well. It was obvious by the beginning of May that the Dodgers three-headed monster in leftfield (Gwynn, Thames,and Gibbons) were not going to produce offensively so Jerry Sands was the first of the rookies to get the call. Rafael Furcal's oft-injured Dodger career was winding down and the free agent to-be was eventually traded in part due to the potential of the next rookie call up, Shortstop Dee Gordon. Gordon and Sands had the largest impacts among the Dodger rookies with others making guest appearances from time to time throughout the season.
Jerry Sands, Outfield- He came into 2011 as the Dodgers #6 ranked prospect according to Baseball America and a hot start at AAA Albuquerque earned him an early May call up. He has the most power potential of any Dodgers prospect but that power did not transfer to the major leagues in 2011. A .200 batting average and only two homeruns in a little over a month's worth of action earned him more playing time in Albuquerque. He got a September callup which produced better results and two more homeruns. He ended his rookie season with a .253 Batting Average, 4 Homeruns, and 26 Runs Batted In in 198 At-Bats. His 2012 outlook may see him back in AAA to start the season as the Dodgers outfield is a little bit crowded for 2012, unless the Dodgers make some moves over the winter. I would rather see him getting at-bats in Albuquerque than I would making spot appearances for the Dodgers.
The 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers rookies were not expected to produce much going into the season as the Dodgers had veterans penciled in at every position and a veteran bench as well. It was obvious by the beginning of May that the Dodgers three-headed monster in leftfield (Gwynn, Thames,and Gibbons) were not going to produce offensively so Jerry Sands was the first of the rookies to get the call. Rafael Furcal's oft-injured Dodger career was winding down and the free agent to-be was eventually traded in part due to the potential of the next rookie call up, Shortstop Dee Gordon. Gordon and Sands had the largest impacts among the Dodger rookies with others making guest appearances from time to time throughout the season.
Jerry Sands, Outfield- He came into 2011 as the Dodgers #6 ranked prospect according to Baseball America and a hot start at AAA Albuquerque earned him an early May call up. He has the most power potential of any Dodgers prospect but that power did not transfer to the major leagues in 2011. A .200 batting average and only two homeruns in a little over a month's worth of action earned him more playing time in Albuquerque. He got a September callup which produced better results and two more homeruns. He ended his rookie season with a .253 Batting Average, 4 Homeruns, and 26 Runs Batted In in 198 At-Bats. His 2012 outlook may see him back in AAA to start the season as the Dodgers outfield is a little bit crowded for 2012, unless the Dodgers make some moves over the winter. I would rather see him getting at-bats in Albuquerque than I would making spot appearances for the Dodgers.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Clayton Kershaw
Major League Baseball announced today that Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw has won the 2011 Cy Young Award. The numbers speak for themselves. A 21-5 won-loss record, a 2.28 Earned Run Average, and a 0.98 WHIP. He also led the league in Strikeouts with 248 in 233 1/3 Innings Pitched. Some baseball writers are calling it the pitching Triple Crown and all at 23 years old.
I had been saying that he should win the Cy Young Award since the beginning of September and he was very deserving. Several writers and reporters were quoted as saying they would not vote for him because the Dodgers didn't win the division and were only a barely above .500 team. A starting pitcher only pitches every 5th day and he cannot control what happens the other four days. He posted these numbers with an offense that ranked near the bottom in runs scored in the National League. oh, yeah, he deserved it.
I had been saying that he should win the Cy Young Award since the beginning of September and he was very deserving. Several writers and reporters were quoted as saying they would not vote for him because the Dodgers didn't win the division and were only a barely above .500 team. A starting pitcher only pitches every 5th day and he cannot control what happens the other four days. He posted these numbers with an offense that ranked near the bottom in runs scored in the National League. oh, yeah, he deserved it.
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