A couple moves
Just a quick update before the weekend. Earlier today, we sold the contract of Oscar Robles to the Mexico City Reds and we signed outfielder Larry Bigbie to a minor league contract with an invite to big league Spring Training.
At the end of the day, this is probably a good thing Oscar, as his opportunities here would probably be limited with Ramon Martinez, Wilson Valdez, Chin-lung Hu and others competing for a spot on the big league club.
I hope everyone enjoys the Superbowl and then turns on KFWB for the first DodgerTalk of the year.
Inside the Dodgers 
hope oscar makes it back up to the show… and good news guys, i will be attending my first ever spring training… this was my last opportunity, and i had to go…
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Your going to have the best time of your baseball life Ray.
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
Why the last opportunity Ray? I haven’t been reading much in the past 6 or 8 weeks…hope everythings OK.
I think Ray means that this will be the last time he’ll be able to see the Dodgers in Vero Beach.
What’s up Ray? How long will you be staying in Vero? Have fun… lucky dog!
As I read it about the move was that it was targeted for 2009 with nothing set in stone yet.
I’m really glad i had the chance to see Oscar Robles Play and would like to thank him very much for coming through as well as he did in the 2005 season. he did an amazing job filling in for Izzy and showed that he can play at Major league level. I hope all the best for him in his Career.He has + defence at SS and can hit for avg as well as bunt for sac/single and seemed to mesh with his teammates with a great attitude. Is it March yet?
Go Blue 2007!
Nice to hear from you again Ray. Hope you have a great time.
Gary, thanks for checking on Harold.
GO DODGERS
Sorry to see Oscar go. He was a bright spot during ’05 season and I don’t recall many of those. Hopefully word will get to him that there are some who appreciated his play, but he is better off returning to Mexico. I hope he gets another shot at the bigs
Does anyone remember the game in ’05 when Robles was at the plate and a hit and run was put on? The pitcher bounced the ball 5 feet in front of the plate and Robles still made contact off the bounce for a base hit. I remember him laughing at first base…truly one of the bright spots of ’05.
didn’t he actually hit a home run off of the bounced pitch?
Is anyone else here surprised that Martinez is apparently going to have to fight for a spot on the roster. I think he did a great job last year. I was at the super long game where he hit a home run to win it. He did an admirable job filling in, but for some reason this management team does not seem sold on him i.e. bringing in lugo.
Oscar was a good guy and did everything that was asked of him, but he really couldn’t hit and was just taking up a roster spot. Hopefully Bigbie will be better.
Hey guys. All is well. Just a bit of a winter hibernation. euhlman is my wife Elaine. Starting to get a bit excited with things ready to go in a couple of weeks. Ray, my friend, you are in for a truly wonderful experience. Way to go. Thanks for the concern 51 and Gary.
I really hope Oscar Robles makes it with another team. He is a feel good story and grateful to the Dodgers for his chance. I love guys like that.Bigbie had one good season in Baltimore I think. Yes, I wonder why Ramon is fighting for a spot. It just seems he almost always produces something when he plays. Go Dodgers!!
Good to hear from you Harold. I’m
happy all is well. I to am getting ready for a new season.
GO BLUE
Dualtone, he didn’t hit a home run. He just kind of slapped it and it found a hole in the infield. I very distinctly remember the look on his face when he stood on first…priceless.
My mistake. I kind of vaguely remember the whole thing. I remember the pitch bouncing and him making contact, but beyond that I was just too busy laughing.
Here’s an interesting prediction from an ESPN article posted today:
“Alex Rodriguez will be a pre-July 31 trading deadline hot potato. He has a post-2007 opt-out clause in his contract — the same as those recently exercised by fellow Scott Boras clients Aramis Ramirez and J.D. Drew — and if he hits any first-half potholes, the Yankees will have to think hard.”
I’m not much impressed with the bad press A-Rod has received. His numbers are fantastic and he could be just the bat the Dodgers need. I don’t know about his “team chemistry” component (of which Coletti is quite fond), but come July, I think that the Dodgers will be in a position to trade pitching to the Yankees, and I think the Yankees will have more depth issues with starting pitching than the Blue. Plus, I think A-Rod would be a much better playoff player in a more relaxed sports environment like LA.
Dualtone – I hear ya. I was laughing my head off, too. Story would have been way better your way with a HR, though.
Correction – I read that quote on an article on mlb.com titled “AL East moves won’t change much,” not on ESPN.com.
im bummed out i missed dodgertalk last night..can anyone fill me in?
Nothing new or earth shattering graffiti. Several call-in’s asking similar questions on lineups, batting order, trades etc… Nomar did an interview and talked about his charity, his wife’s pregnancy etc.. He did mention how he feels they’re a better team today then last year and how he felt last years team was great but unfortunately broke down with injuries. He also said he was willing to play where ever the Dodgers needed him and only asked that they tell him soon so he can prepare. You have to LOVE that kind of commitment by a ball player in this day and age !!
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
Hey puppyhead01 – Although I have never been a big A-Rod fan, I have watched his numbers over the years and he will undoubtedly be a first ballot Hall of Famer. HOWEVER, if you look at his post-season numbers over the last two seasons, he stunk the place up – and BAD! (.133 in 05 and .071 in 06).
I went to games 2 and 5 of the 2005 ALDS at Angel Stadium and left there wondering how much worse he could possible be. My question was answered during the 2006 post-season, where he was A LOT worse.
I do not believe that he would be worth what he would want to become a Dodger and, more so, I do not believe that he would mix well in the Dodger club house.
I have to admit that his homerun numbers are off the hook. He is ALWAYS good for 30+ homeruns, and that is something that the Blue Crew sure could use.
I have a feeling that because Scott Boras is his agent, Ned Colletti won’t even give A-Rod a look. Just my thoughts on the subject.
GO DODGERS!
PS: Only 62 more days until the home opener!
fansince53, I agree that his postseason numbers have been atrocious. I also don’t think he has what it takes to perform under the microscope that is New York. But that’s why I mentioned that I think he would be a better postseason performer elsewhere; there’s no reason for his bad numbers other than buckling under pressure, and I doubt he’d do that in LA.
As for price…any of the power hitters we may pursue in the next year will come with at LEAST a $15-20 million/year price tag. If the Dodgers are serious about pursuing a legit slugger, it’s going to cost a lot regardless.
I think A-Rod in LA would be similar to Beckham in LA…he’s a pretty boy, and Hollywood would love him, so he would be happy and probably produce better. I don’t know about chemistry. But that’s a pretty tough, subjective question.
you said >>What’s up Ray? How long will you be staying in Vero? Have fun… lucky dog!<<
yeah but you just can’t help & get kind of jealous, sorry i’m just being honest.
“HOWEVER, if you look at his post-season numbers over the last two seasons, he stunk the place up – and BAD! (.133 in 05 and .071 in 06).”
What would you have said at the time about a guy who was 4 for 38 over the last two postseasons, having only had 1 homer and 5 RBI in that timeframe?
one more thing if you missed DodgerTalk you can still hear it on KFWB, It was a great show by the way well worth the listen.
FYI, here’s the link to the KFWB radio Dodger Talk http://www.kfwb.com/pages/7789.php
Go Ned !!
Go Dodgers !!
Impatient as I am, I will remark with a “correct answer” to my previous query.
You would pray for Gil Hodges; that was his line from the 1949 and 1952 series.
A-Rod would love to play in LA. I’ve read somewhere, that when he was eligible for the draft he told the Mariners to please not draft him because he wanted to play for the Dodgers. As we all know the Mariners didn’t care,and drafted him anyway.
So, no mailbag this week or what? Josh, any chance you could talk to Ken and see if we’ll have one this week? Meager though it may be, I always look forward to reading it.
arod is not leaving new york guys. that would bring joy to boston fans everywhere, but a reasonable option no one responded to was my mention of jermaine dye. i think he can be had. much rather have 40 from dye than 40 from choke-rod.
Graffiti, you’re right, A-Rod probably isn’t leaving NY. But if he gets booed at Yankee Stadium for the whole first half, the Yankees will have to evaluate whether or not he will exercise his opt-out clause after the season. If they believed he would, they would likely move him just so they could get something in return rather than just a draft pick. And if they were to move him…I don’t really think they need more bats, do you? They will need more pitching, of which the Dodgers have a surplus.
Dye has one season with 40 HR, and only two with 30+. Also, he has only hit .300 twice in his career, the time before last year coming like 8 years ago. The reality of the matter is that we wouldnt have to pay that much more to get A-Rod than Dye, especially if Yankee fans are booing him… A-Rod has still had more success in the playoffs than not– three playoffs hitting over 300 hundred isnt exactly choking, and you know the NY atmosphere affects his play, EVERYDAY, not just in the playoffs. When we look at Arod over the past 4 years with the Yanks, i think we need to look at the stats with a grain of salt.
IF the Yankees were to trade A-Rod the Dodgers would be looking at giving up more then money. Sadly, in the last few seasons the Yankees are getting much smarter with their trades. I don’t think they’d give up a player of A-Rod’s abilities, even if he is loathed by most fans, without getting many top prospects in return. So once again the debate becomes are you willing to trade “the future” (or expected talent) for 1 player’s proven talent? In this case I’m not sure I would, especially when you take A-Rod’s attitude and clubhouse chemistry into account. I think the Dodgers are really growing as a team and if you were to bring A-Rod aboard you’d create an atmosphere much more like the Giants have: Balco Bonds, and then the rest of the team. That’s my take anyway, just some food for thought.
come on boardr how many times have you seen Arod come through when it counted?? how many times did we see him at the plate with runners in scoring postition and either strike out and ruin the rally, or hit into a double play. it seems like thats just what he does when it counts. he had some bad games last year, im talking 0-4 4 strikeouts bad. the whole deal with arod is he was always overhyped, all the announcers speculating he was gonna be the first to break aarons record, then it was the 252 million dollar contract. its like people have such lofty ideas about him as a player, but he has never been succesful, and thats really the bottom line. but anyways the yanks arent giving up arod and sheffield in the same season no matter what. imagine if we did make that trade, that would be the baseball version of the monster herschel walker deal.
Crasnick must have been reading our posts.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove06/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2755852&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1
A whole article on A-Rod: includes recent performance, past performance, contract issues and possible scenarios for his opt-out clause. (Although he doesn’t mention a mid-season trade – maybe he wasn’t checking the Dodger blogs.)
I’m not sure how you can say he has never been successful — He is a career 300 hitter and one season away from 500 HR.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=121347&statType=1
Just in case you wanted to see for yourself… He is overhyped, but that’s not his fault, and i have seen him have bad games, but you know bc of that hype when HE has a bad game WE all hear about it that much more. he is an amazing player. Sure-fire first ballot HOF, (maybe), but I dont watch many Yankee games, so i can’t really say. I did go to a game this past year and see him hit two bombs to straight center though.
Metalmaniac, we wouild only need to give up players if they traded him, and if they were desperate enough to trade him mid year, it would prob. be for like Penny, Kuo, and someone. B/c if he opts at the end, then they’re left with nada.— Pupyhead put it very well in his post….
hes never been successful as a member of a team and thats the bottom line. sure he has the stats but he pads those against lesser foes. when it counts dont count on arod. just look at the tigers series when it counted and tell me he was successful.
GO GET MIGUEL!!!