Day One, Another Perspective

Day One, Roy Smith (Dodger Vice President, Scouting and Player Development)

The first day of  Spring Training is like the first day of school—you have a mix of nervousness and anticipation.  When I played it was nervousness about being ready and making the team. I have found that my feelings as a front office person are similar. Now I am anxious to see our new players and how they interact with the new coaching staff.         

Another common feeling that’s shared between players and front office people is optimism. Every year in your mind, you believe this is going to be the best season you’ve ever had. Now I’m hoping that all our moves pay dividends and that our winter of hard work will culminate in a championship.

Yesterday the theoretical became reality and you just don’t know how it will look until you see it.   I hope I never lose any of these feelings .

238 comments

  1. bigd33ea@yahoo.com

    Can you give us any information on Miller and Billingsley? Do either look like they could make the club this year? Also, what does the addition of Baez mean for Brazoban?

    Reply
  2. mlwatkins22@msn.com

    As an avid Dodger fan, I can say that I am really excited and anxious for the season. It is so awesome to have all these great prospects and I hope to see them on the major league team soon. I want to congratulate you and the rest of the player development dept. on rebuilding this farm system the way you have.

    Reply
  3. leon5646@hotmail.com

    Just want some input from the fans and experts. Anyone know if Colletti is even remotely thinking about bringing Sosa on board? He’d answer the upgrade as a power corner outfielder, come in on the “cheap” (possibly 1-2 million?), and really add some thunder and take it away from the Giants and Angels. I would think he’s been humbled by the off season of no action, and just 3 years ago, he was one of the best power hitters. I don’t know if he could do left field, and how much is left in the tank, but I think it’s a HUGE improvement over Cruz/Repko/Ledee/Werth. I think the positives totally outweigh any negatives. Plus I think with Coletti and Grady’s people skills, I think they could pull it off and keep him in check. What do you think?!?

    Reply
  4. dodgerskip@hotmail.com

    Anyone out there get the feeling that Colletti is probably not done with the roster yet? We have a logjam of back-up middle infielders vying for 1 roster spot. We have a surplus of middle-relievers, and some dead weight like Choi. We seem to be in need of one more reliable-power bat for the outfield, especially in light of Drew’s and Werth’s fragile natures. So, I can envision a trade (probably like a 3 for 1) coming toward the end of spring training to bring in that power bat and eliminate some players who deserve to be on the 25-man roster but would likely have to be cut. I’m just wondering who Colletti may be eyeing.

    Reply
  5. JhallWally

    Todays lineup:

    •Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
    •Rafael Furcal, SS
    •Andre Ethier, RF
    •Matt Kemp, CF
    •James Loney, 1B
    •Juan Uribe, 3B
    •Dioner Navarro, C
    •Jamey Carroll, 2B
    •Rubby De La Rosa, P

    Reply
      • trublu4ever

        They haven’t shown it yet. We shall see when they take other shots of the stadium.
        .
        I thought it was a pretty cool move when the fan that caught Jeter’s 3,000 hit, home run ball, gave back to him. Refreshing to see somebody who isn’t out to make a buck!

  8. JhallWally

    I guess I can see why the Phillies-Braves would be a much better national game. Two real teams as opposed to a couple of piles of cellar caliber crap.

    Reply
  9. vl4eccjr

    Good afternoon gang.
    The local station has the Braves-Phillies on, so here I am.
    I hope Rubby gets the win today. With Lilly on the bump tomorrow, it’s a given they will lose. He always gets lit up pitching day games.

    Reply
  18. messagebear

    URIBE for the most pathetic overpaid player of the year award.
    Special recognition for Ned for signing him. Ned’s had a lot of those awards in his relatively few years.

    Reply
    • JhallWally

      Way too many Bear. Heard that Frank isn’t real happy with his signings of Lilly and Uribe. Geez, he should have been gone after the Phew and Cow debacles, if not the Schidt mess. Frank is too broke to fire him.

      Reply
      • trublu4ever

        They just said Jamey may be on the trading block….oh, no, Neddy is at it again!

      • JhallWally

        Well, he is one of the few players that we could actually get something for. I would like to see Carroll go to a contender(except the VaGiants or Cardinals) where he can get a shot at a ring. He deserves better than this crap.

      • trublu4ever

        They also said a lot of the Padres (including Bell) are on the trading block.

      • JhallWally

        I wish the Dodgers would just cut the bullshit facade and admit this season is toast. Get what you can get and unload some bad contracts if you can. If you look at the numbers, this team has been done for at least a month. A little hot streak going into the AS break and coming out of it isn’t going to change that. We need to play .600 ball the rest of the way just to get back to .500. Beside the fact that there is not a player available that is going to make a significant difference. And that is supposing that we only need one player. Which is ludicrous. We need 3 or 4.

  19. trublu4ever

    It will be interesting to know what they announce as the paid attendance…..only then, will we know for sure how deep the protest runs ( the no-shows are huge). I can tell you that this IS the smallest crowd I have ever seen!

    Reply
    • JhallWally

      That’s good to hear. I hope the fans continue to send the message loud and clear. I can see attendance really taking a dive in August and Sept when the team is in or near the cellar and the morons that think this team can get back in it finally wake the fuck up.

      Reply
  20. JhallWally

    No matter where we finish in the standings, my hopes for this season are that we finally are freed of the McCourt ownership, and we get a real legitimate owner.
    Ned, Conte, Honeycutt, and Dildon are thrown out with the bath water. We unload some crap contracts and possibly get some prospects.
    The young kids are brought up to see what we’ve got going forward.
    And, we have a hand in the VaGiants not winning the division.

    Reply
  23. JhallWally

    Well, the good part is, Nobatro is probably playing his way off the roster when Badajass comes back. Although Badajass is not really much better. Of course, Neddy won’t see it that way since Ellis has options left.

    Reply
  34. vl4eccjr

    Damn! Even Charlie on the radil broadcast mentions “The way the Dodgers have been playing lately, a leadoff walk constitutes a rally.”

    Reply
    • JhallWally

      Ohhhhhh the humanity!!! This team can’t even go down in flames. Just sink to the bottom of the bowl. I hope the new owner remembers to flush and put the seat down.

      Reply
    • nedsajerk

      Dodgers win! Navarro walk off hit gives team three straight shutouts for the first time since July 25-27, 1991!

      Reply
  57. dodgereric

    Amazing. Twelve MLB teams are on the plus side, attendance-wise in 2011 vs 2010. Eighteen are down, including the Boston Red Sox, who are down an average of 9 fans per game.
    .
    MLB on the whole is down 268,474. If the Dodgers were even (using yesterday’s numbers), MLB would be up 126,387.
    .
    We’ve passed the 400,000 mark today.
    .
    Game 49 attendance (2010): 45,151
    Today’s attendance courtesy of trumom: 29,744
    Greater than last year = 8 / Less than last year = 40
    2nd straight game of negative attendance
    .
    Games less than 30,000 this season – 7
    Games less than 30,000 in 2005 – 2010: none
    Last game was 9/14/2004 – 29,704
    .
    Lowest attended game of the year: Game 8 – 27,439
    Largest single game drop: Game 18 (55,662 – 28,419 = 27,243)
    .
    2010 attendance (49 games) – 2,205,498 (45,010 average)
    2011 attendance (49 games) – 1,795,230 (36,637 average) #9 in MLB
    .
    Drop of 410,268 total
    Average drop of 8373
    Extrapolated for 81 games – 678,198
    Projected 2011 final attendance – 2,967,625
    2010’s final attendance – 3,562,318 (#3 in MLB)
    .
    Next game’s (50) attendance in 2010 – 42,299
    .
    Crowds less than 30,000 in 2010: none. 2011: 7
    Crowds 30,000 – 39,999 in 2010: 10. 2011: 29
    Crowds 40,000 – 49,999 in 2010: 28. 2011: 9
    Crowds 50,000 – 55,999 in 2010: 7. 2011: 1
    Sellouts (56,000) in 2010: 4. 2011: 3

    Reply
  58. dodgereric

    Just for fun, here’s MLB’s figures through yesterday’s games:
    .
    1-TEX….468,680
    2-SFG…229,977
    3-CLE….185,619
    4-CIN…..179,029
    5-PIT…..114,540
    6-TOR…100,507
    7-COL…..85,243
    8-OAK…..48,324
    9-SDP…..33,886
    10-MIL…..26,877
    11-PHI…..21,470
    12-FLA….14,170
    13-BOS…….-405
    14-MIN……-3,266
    15-KCR…-33,722
    16-LAA….-34,426
    17-CHW…-44,829
    18-WSN…-52,615
    19-DET….-54,072
    20-HOU….-66,076
    21-BAL….-72,483
    22-ARI…..-80,771
    23-NYY….-82,400
    24-CHC….-95,920
    25-STL…-107,735
    26-TBR…-126,524
    27-NYM…-131,097
    28-ATL…-167,918
    29-SEA…-227,676
    30-LAD…-394,861

    Reply
    • mlblogsnellyjune

      It’s great to see Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and even the A’s up in attendance. Surprised not to see Baltimore up, and sad, but much needed, to see LAD dead last.
      .
      So, did you make it to the protest today?

      Reply
  59. nedsajerk

    GREENLAWN, N.Y. (AP) — Police on New York’s Long Island are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who was choked by the electrical cord of an air conditioner.

    Malana Ingram was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m. Saturday.

    Police say the child got entangled in the cord, which was attached to an air conditioner installed in a wall about 6 feet off the floor at her home in Greenlawn, about 35 miles east of New York City. She was found by a family member.

    Both family members and police performed CPR on the child before she taken to the hospital.

    Reply
      • mlblogsnellyjune

        Good question Shad!!! I am sure there is more to that story like where in the hell was the supervision. Not that anything will happen to the parent (or responsible party) anyway. At least it didn’t take 31 days to find the child.

  60. northstateblues

    (apologies to “Field of Dreams”)

    .
    People won’t come, Frank.

    .
    They’ll stay away in droves for reasons you can’t even fathom. Your parking lots remain empty, and you’re still not sure why they’re doing it. Your ankle-biting tantrums have taken the innocence from fans looking to connect to the past. “Dodger Dogs are only a dollar today,” you say. “Parking’s only 15 dollars a car”. They’ll pass on you without even thinking about it, for it’s ethics and fortitude you lack.

    .
    And you’ll see empty bleachers, the stadium quiet on a perfect afternoon. A sea of reserved seats along the baselines, which Los Angeles filled from the time they were children and cheered their heroes. And they watch the game from home, and know, today, that the magic is gone. The memories so thick, they have to brush the tears from their faces.

    .
    People won’t come, Frank.

    .
    The one constant in L.A. through the summers had been baseball. Then you rolled in with your army of litigating steamrollers. Dodger tradition under you has been erased like a blackboard, clumsily redrawn, and erased again.

    .
    But the fans mark the time. This field, this team, is a part of OUR past, Frank, a past you never could understand. It reminds us of all that once was good, and, once you’re gone, all that will be good again.

    .
    On that day, the people will come, Frank.

    .
    People will MOST DEFINITELY come.

    Reply
      • northstateblues

        Mainly, it was just the feeling of reading THAT rumor again (you know the one). It just irks me that the 3 people that thought they were “in control” of the situation (Frank, Jamie and Bud) shouldn’t even be left in control of a $$@$# Chia Pet.

        .
        It’s the feeling that, whatever it was that brought the team to L.A., whatever it was that endeared the team to the city in the days before the Lakers started winning championships the Dodgers couldn’t answer, whatever it was, it might be gone. Once Pandora’s Box scatters, you can’t pick up the pieces again. And whatever the reasons for the boycott, they have an effect like Chemotherapy. Sure, you’re fighting the cancer, but all the cells close to it too, and the whole body ends up feeling like crap, and you have to wait a length of time to know whether it even had the desired effect.

        .
        Amid the flotsam, we have players on this team that are as good as anybody in franchise history. And they’re young, if the days of Dodger Tradition seem far away to us, imagine if those days even enter the consciousness of players in their early-to-mid 20’s who grew up in the heartland of the nation.

        .
        It’s scary the fire that we’re playing with. And I don’t have enough faith in Bud Selig to know for sure that this clown won’t still be in control of the team once all is said and done.

  63. vl4eccjr

    Congrats to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team!!!
    Playing against a ‘stacked deck,’ being short handed for 45 minutes, and some seriously biased officiating, they showed some serious tenacity, and nerves of steel to win in a PK shootout after tieing it up right before extra time ran out!
    That’s the best soccer match I’ve ever seen – hands down – men, or women.
    Talk about an epic battle! Bye Bye Brazil. Hello semifinals.

    Reply
  65. messagebear

    The lineup doesn’t matter. The question is whether we can string another shutout together. The onus is on Lilly. Does Lilly have what it takes?
    *
    What I take away from the anti-Frank demonstration, all the letters to LA Times, and the boycott and otherwise reduced attendance is that all of LA wants Frank to GO. If he insists on holding on to the franchise, he will never again make any money with it here in LA. He would really be so much smarter to just SELL NOW. The value of the franchise with him in charge can only go DOWN. With the attendance and franchise loyalty in the pits, why would any cable company offer Frank a decent deal for the TV rights?

    Reply
    • JhallWally

      Sorry, but I happen to think the lineup matters alot. You can’t expect to get a shutout every game out and these are the guys that have to score the runs and play defense.

      Reply
  66. JhallWally

    Thanks Dad/Eric for the attendance status update. I think it is amazing that some people are trying to say that the huge decrease in attendance is not directly related to the Dodger fan bases disgust with the McCourt ownership. There have been other seasons when the team was not very good, and attendance did not suffer.
    .
    Nice posts North. This is a trying time to be a Dodger fan. Just waiting for the next shoe to drop. Everyone knows what the right thing to do is. I’m just hoping and praying for the day we have a new owner (GM, Manager, Trainer, Pitching Coach) and can put this horrible episode behind us.

    Reply
  67. northstateblues

    Everyone knows the right thing to do but Frank.

    .
    The sad thing is, if it were the owner of almost any other team, sticking it to his silver spooned ex-wife and the Commissioner dumb enough to put him in place for his own nefarious reasons, I’d be rooting for him. But not the owner of the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Red Sox or Cubs. No. Those teams are too big to screw around with. But Allan H. “Bud ‘How long do I have to wear the rubber pants?’ ‘Until you learn, son'” Selig had to go punchdrunk with ego, tugging on Superman’s Cape, spitting into the wind, and pulling the mask off the ol’ Lone Ranger with reckless abandon throughout his tenure. I’d gladly let him take his own medicine if it wasn’t the Dodgers.

    .
    Frank is a moron of the first degree, for sure, but he’s just the bomb. Bud put him there, and he made sure the fuse was extra long (as he did with McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, etc.) so he could run far enough as to appear on the other side by the time the media takes enough time to notice after a long day of sticking their camera lenses up the skirts of whoever Jeter or A-Rod’s with this season. “Oh, my, what’s going on here?”, he scoffs behind curled lips in a righteous intonation. (YOU’RE THE COMMISSIONER, MORON! IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR OWN LEAGUE, GET THE HELL OUT!)

    .
    In trying to preserve the sport, Bud Selig destroyed the integrity of it, in the second-largest market in the nation, none the less. But how could he have known? He probably spent the last year in Milwaukee admiring and polishing that statue.

    .
    As big as his ego is, Frank is definitely the smallest fillet in this fish fry.

    Reply
  83. enchantedTheBeav

    Ludwick was a FA last offseason right? Not that he’s the most wonderful LFer in the league, nor the bestest hitter, but how is it we ended up with Thwibbons instead? At least Ludwick has some power and can drive in a few runs.

    Reply
  84. enchantedTheBeav

    Most true closers aren’t worth the big bucks they get paid, so barring Ned doing something stupid (I know, what are the odds of that?), who’s next year’s closer?
    .
    Kuo
    Jansen
    Guerra
    Lindblom
    Other

    Reply
  86. trublu4ever

    Vinny says Mattingly has set his pitching rotation for the second half: Kersh; Kuroda; Lilly; Billz and DeLaRosa……hmmm

    Reply
  88. enchantedTheBeav

    Barring new ownership, anyone think as I do that Miles is next years everyday 2B? I’m thinking Ned gives him 2-3 years and of course, he’ll go back to his career norms.

    Reply
  90. JhallWally

    Next years FA pool is basically a dung. Nothing worth a shit at 2nd except Cano. Yanks aren’t going to let him go.

    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/03/2012-mlb-free-agents.html

    Second basemen
    Clint Barmes (33)
    Willie Bloomquist (34) – $1.1MM mutual option with a $150K buyout
    Orlando Cabrera (37)
    Robinson Cano (29) – $14MM club option with a $2MM buyout
    Jamey Carroll (37)
    Alex Cora (36)
    Craig Counsell (41)
    Mark Ellis (35)
    Jerry Hairston Jr. (36)
    Aaron Hill (30) – $8MM club option for 2012 and $8MM club option for ’13
    Omar Infante (30)
    Joe Inglett (34)
    Kelly Johnson (30)
    Adam Kennedy (36)
    Felipe Lopez (32)
    Jose Lopez (28)
    Julio Lugo (36)
    Aaron Miles (35)
    Augie Ojeda (37)
    Brandon Phillips (31) – $12MM club option with a $1MM buyout

    Reply
    • nedsajerk

      The Yankees’ CC Sabathia(notes), the Rays’ James Shields(notes), the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander(notes), the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez(notes) and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels(notes) all were knocked out because of their starts. Sabathia had been bypassed when rosters were announced a week ago, but replaced Shields when the Tampa Bay pitcher appeared Sunday.

      Added as All-Stars Sunday were the Yankees’ David Robertson(notes), the Texas Rangers’ Alexi Ogando(notes), the Seattle Mariners’ Michael Pineda(notes), the Toronto Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero(notes), the Arizona Diamonbacks’ Miguel Montero(notes) and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kevin Correia(notes).

      Reply
      • nedsajerk

        I’m glad to see Montero make it but I think Hudson should’ve made it over Cain and Hanson over Lincecum.

  103. trublu4ever

    I’m glad to seeing Bochy take Pablo to the AS Game with him….just what everybody needs…another freaking gnat!

    Reply
  104. dodgereric

    Thirty five thousand? Right. That means over half-full? Right.
    .
    Game 50 attendance (2010): 42,299
    Today’s attendance courtesy of trumom: 35,249
    Greater than last year = 8 / Less than last year = 41
    3rd straight game of negative attendance
    .
    Games less than 30,000 this season – 7
    Games less than 30,000 in 2005 – 2010: none
    Last game was 9/14/2004 – 29,704
    .
    Lowest attended game of the year: Game 8 – 27,439
    Largest single game drop: Game 18 (55,662 – 28,419 = 27,243)
    .
    2010 attendance (50 games) – 2,247,797 (44,956 average)
    2011 attendance (50 games) – 1,830,479 (36,610 average) #9 in MLB
    .
    Drop of 417,318 total
    Average drop of 8346
    Extrapolated for 81 games – 676,055
    Projected 2011 final attendance – 2,965,376
    2010’s final attendance – 3,562,318 (#3 in MLB)
    .
    Next game’s (51) attendance in 2010 – 44,626
    .
    Crowds less than 30,000 in 2010: none. 2011: 7
    Crowds 30,000 – 39,999 in 2010: 10. 2011: 30
    Crowds 40,000 – 49,999 in 2010: 29. 2011: 9
    Crowds 50,000 – 55,999 in 2010: 7. 2011: 1
    Sellouts (56,000) in 2010: 4. 2011: 3

    Reply
  107. Emma

    This is response to Wally saying he was going to go to my blog and deluge it with comments. Meant to say Wally instead of Beav.

    “haha Beav!
    Hi Everyone! I’ve been absent. busy as a bee. I was at SABR41 convention from Wed 7/6 to 7/10 I had such a great time there! Met wonderful baseball geeks. I attended sessions and also volunteered. I loved the tour of old ballparks in Los Angeles. I tweet more than I go to facebook and have not had a chance to update my blog. I was over the limit on pictures on my blog so got to figure out where to put the pics or delete some that I have there.
    .
    Anyway, I was tweeting Sunday that I had an extra four tickets to the Lake Elsinore game against the Visalia’s Rawhides. It was part of the SABR convention activities. I gave the tix to fans waiting in line to buy tix. Nice cozy stadium.
    .
    I video taped Wes Parker talking outside of a session. He seemed like he was having as much fun talking as we were having listening to him. Never made it inside the session ’cause we caught him outside and he just talked and talked and answer all our question. Love Wes!
    .
    Emma”
    I’ve been so busy I have not read my Sat and Sun paper so I missed Eric’s letter. I got home about midnight last night, started reading my papers and fell asleep. Now I won’t get home till 10ish catching up at work. But had a great time in Minn and at SABR41 convention. BTW, Wally made that comment on my bday.
    .

    Reply
  112. selltheteam

    Marcus Thames is gone. Now all we have to do is get rid of Navarro, Uribe, Lilly, …………., Colletti, and McCourt and we’ll be home free!

    Reply

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