A Great Start to the Meetings
This morning, the Hall of Fame announced that Walter O’Malley and **** Williams will both be inducted in Cooperstown this summer. What a great way to begin the four days here in Nashville and we’ll be sending out a release shortly, but all of us at the Dodgers are ecstatic that these two men will finally find their rightful place at the Hall of Fame.
The timing couldn’t be better, either. We’ll be celebrating 50 years of Los Angeles Dodger baseball all year long and without Walter O’Malley, none of that would be possible. As for Williams, he played outfielder for us for about five years in the 50s and though he is mostly being inducted for all that he accomplished after being with the Dodgers, that’s where his career began and we’re very excited for him, too.
Inside the Dodgers 
O’Malley derserves this. He was a baseball innovator, and a great owner. The Dodgers did pretty good under him and his son. On another note, how come the Dodgers were so quick to give a Pinch runner Pierre a 5 year deal but don’t want to go more than 2 with Jones? I say Ned should offer Jones 3 years.
I agree Fliegel, give Jones 3 years at around 57M. He is only 30 and will bounce back from last year.
The Texas Rangers are said to be interested in Coco Crisp of Boston to play centerfield. Perhaps the Dodgers could unload Pierre to them if they eat part of his salary. I don’t believe Crisp is any better than Pierre and we don’t need to ask for much in return. Just take Pierre so we can move on and field a decent outfield.
Right on, jhall.
That hack Gurnick reports in his article about Jones, that signing Jones would create a surplus in the outfield, likely moving Pierre to LF.
What???
So Pierre stays in the field and Ethier or Kemp sit or are trade bait?
Either Gurnick or his Dodgers source are on meth.
Texas must have an overpaid underachiever that they would be happy to unload. Maybe we can trade **** for ****. Hope Ned is exploring the possibilities there.
We’re looking for a backup catcher. Perhaps the Rangers are overpaying their catcher. Its a thought. We just need to get Pierre out of the lineup somehow.
The Rangers would love to get rid of Vicente Padilla, but would we want that?
Eat half of Pierre’s salary and trade him for a catching prospect. Eat half his salary and give him away. Whatever it takes.
Good suggestion Jboydstun.
They both make 9M and ****. I would so that trade in a heartbeat. Padilla is only 30 and could be salvagable. Pierre is just a waste and killing us in the outfield.
do that trade
I really hope the ned has something up his sleeve. I dont think that we can go with the team we have now.
If the dodgers sign Jones and are unable to trade Pierre, Kemp, Young or Ethier..
Do you guys think that Torre will play the best 3 OFers?
Because everyone in baseball, Coletti included, knows that on both sides of the ball Ethier (and a Coletti aquisistion) is a superior player to Pierre.
That would be interesting.
I am pretty stoked at all I read coming from Coletti and thats saying something as I am tough on him. He knows what we need, knows the value of our younger players and I can’t complain.
i dont think that there is any one team that would give the dodgers anything of value for pierre without the dodgers paying half of pierre’s salary!
i think if dodgers sign jones, they will have to do something with one of the OF’s. they will most likely get rid of pierre (hopefully)
Jungar,
We can only hope. Unloading Pierre at any cost is imperative. Whether we sign Jones or not. I’ll take my chances with Young, Kemp, and Ethier from left to right and Repko as the 4th outfielder.
GermanD,
Good part is we don’t have to get anything for Pierre and eating half his salary to make him go away would be a net gain for us.
Well its not as if Grady played our three best OF’s last year. Id rather not go through another round of that. Trade pierre for anything. Or nothing at all.
jungar,
We better trade Pierre so we don’t have to worry about who Joe is going to play. Let’s take the guess work out it and just dump JP for the love of God!
Nomar, Kent, and Lowe come off the books after next season which frees up lots of cash for acquiring Jones or waiting till next years free agent crop. Santana or Cabrera could still be available then and it won’t cost us any of the young prospects.
Nomar 9M
Kent 9M
Lowe 9.5M
Total 27.5M
Pierre -4.5M(half his salary)
Net Gain 23M
Much improved clubhouse environment and better defense.
Priceless!
Not to mention Furcal’s ridiculous 13.7M.
Geez, we could be major players in next seasons free agent market and not give up any of our young core players.
But then you read this and you want to throw up a little….
The Texas Rangers are quietly shopping third baseman Hank Blalock, who spent last season battling injuries. Even when healthy, Blalock’s production has slipped significantly from his All-Star 2003 and 2004 seasons when he hit 61 home runs and drove in 200 runs. The Rangers have spoken to the Dodgers regarding Blalock, who will make an affordable $5.95 million in 2008 with a club option in 2009 for $6.2 million. The Dodgers want to add a big bat at third base because they aren’t convinced Nomar Garciaparra will return even to his 2006 form or that prospect Andy LaRoche can shake back pain and become a productive everyday player.
Surely “bad back” and all Andy can do this
.243/.301/.398/.699
which are Blalocks career numbers away from Arlington.
Heck Nomar could do it.
Probably a better free agent class as well.
Ned’s holding a pretty good hand if he doesn’t panic and get his aces trumped.
Don’t count on us ever getting rid of Pierre. It was a bad sign and everyone that knows anything about baseball knows it.
Excellent point Jungar.
Ed,
You’re right. That’s why we have to eat half of his contract.
Same situation as Odalis.
Uggggggggggh!!!
The good news about Pierre is that if they feel he is worhtless in CF then wait till they seem him in LF where his speed is no longer a factor yet his weak arm and NO power will be. Moving him to LF is the first step in moving him off the roster.
White Sox want a centerfielder and have **** they want to unload also.
True, but ODP could be moved to the BP where he could only hurt us so often.
Yep Jungar, in left he is an even worse option.
LOL Jspelk. Pierre to the bench where he can’t hurt us and can pinch run once in awhile.
Funny that the Yankees are in the same situation with Damom. At least Torre has some experience dealing with it. HAHAHA
Damon
There was a very important sentence missing from the Rotoworld story, here’s how it was written by Steve Henson:
“The Rangers have spoken to the Dodgers regarding Blalock, who will make an affordable $5.95 million in 2008 with a club option in 2009 for $6.2 million. The Dodgers want to add a big bat at third base because they aren’t convinced Nomar Garciaparra will return even to his 2006 form or that prospect Andy LaRoche can shake back pain and become a productive everyday player. However, they aren’t convinced Blalock is the answer.”
End of Quote
Lots of rumors will be coming in the next three days and in bunches. If a deal is truly made in all likelihood, we won’t see it coming.
i think if it was last year with young,kemp and ethier i would have loved to see it, but we are going into another year of wait and see. i think if we do sign jones we can at least have an established OF.
Like the Pierre debacle Alex.
A source told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that the Dodgers have a two-year, $32 million offer to Andruw Jones on the table.
That’s not the kind of offer that figures to make Jones sign on the dotted line anytime soon. No one has stepped up with the kind of five- or six-year deal agent Scott Boras wants, but it’d be a surprise if some team wasn’t willing to go to at least $50 million for three years.
GermanD,
I like wait and see better than Ned’s track record of panic and screw up.
except that Damon has hit double digit homeruns in 9 of his last 10 seasons and has had a OBP around .370 in those 10 seasons, and in 12 seasons had a lower OBP than Pierre had last season 1 time.
I would give Jones 3/50.
I agree that Pierre has to go. He has to be worh 5 mil a year..pay the other 4 mil and count it a blessing. Signing Andruw for 2-3 years is not a bad idea. He has to be plenty motivated to prove that last year was a fluke and as long as his body is not worn out he will win 5-7 games with his glove as oppose to Pierre costing us 5-7 games. It could be a 10-12 game swing already. I would love to see Andruw/Ethier/kemp and have young and Repko if he can stay healthy as reserves.
As far as pitching Loaiza is the Pierre of the staff. If we have to watch him for 20-25 starts, you better buy stock in the maker of Tums because he is awful.
The Blalock for Laroche rumor…what has haapened to Blalock he is only 26 but he has declined so badly the last 2 years…it is scary to try and figure which Blalock you will be getting. If is the Blalock of 3-4 years ago he is a powerhitting 3b, if not I would rather stay the course and let Laroche had a real opportunity.
Damon is older and clearly on the decline. In his day he was a much better player than Pierre ever will be. No arguement there.
LaRoche will be a better than average 3rd baseman and is cheap for now.
Gotta keep our fingers crossed that Loaiza when healthy can become a decent 5th starter. Can’t be worse than Bombko.
Makes you really appreciate Brett Butler and T-Bone Shelby doesn’t it?!
I hope you are right on Loiaza but look at his career stats 6 out of the 11 years he has pitched he has an era over 4.89…that is not an aberration it is the truth. He may actually be worse that Bombko. We can only hope.
Painfully true Shawn.
vs lefties in his career Blalock is hitting
.226 .280 .349 .629 ouch. And his hitting away from Arlington…243 .301 .398 .699
His Career OPS+ is 103
His OPS+ the last two full years are 86 and 93 which is worse than Gonzo (101) for the least two years. No thanks. No way in ****. His career numbers (including his good seasons) are no better than what Gonzo was for us last year.
Shawn I agree on Loaiza. Our rotation, as it stands now is a wreck. I would be shocked if Schmidt and Loaiza win 10 games combined.
Schmidt was a train wreck waiting to happen. Great job Ned and Conte. I hope you all get great Christmas gifts from Schmitty for overlooking his medical history. It had to obvious in his MRIs…you just do not come to spring training and never get out of the low 80s without an injury before hand. It was a bad sign and it shows that signing a player out of past loyalty is never a good thing. If Stan Johnston would have been given the opportunity to see the MRI and given the chance to express his opinion the signing would never have happened. Get rid of the Giants in our organization and bring back Dodger pride and Loyatly.
No doubt the starting pitching in the 4 and 5 spots is our biggest concern aside from Pierre.
Amen Shawn!
I live in San Francisco and have been a Dodgers fan since my formative years in the early 70’s in LA. So I get to listen to all my co-workers and friends about how great the Giants are (Even though they’ve won nothing since they moved to this state!!!).
I’ve been reading this blog almost daily since it started. I enjoy it but now have to add my .02. Take it easy on me as I’m new to the fray!! I attempted to post a couple of weeks ago but my computer is junk and locked up so some of what I was going to say has been pretty much agreed on by most of you.
Such as the Dodgers are at a cross road and Juan isn’t needed on our team as we already have a lead off hitter in Furcal. I think Juan could be an asset for another team and I’m sure that is being looked at. I think the Dodgers should hold on to our prospects (Who really shouldn’t be considered prospects as they have been in the bigs now and been productive).
Kershaw should be untouchable as a trade piece unless it is for Miggy or Johan straight up which isn’t going to happen.
I would definately do what I could to sign Kuroda.
The White Sox were looking for a lead off hitter and center fielder and they have a 3rd base prospect that is being blocked by Joe Crede. I think that could be a possible trade that could help both teams (Mostly us!!).
Crede is coming off an injury but has averaged about 25 home runs a year the last 3 years before his shortened season. He could be a decent filler for LaRoche and back up to Kent in case he is injured or doesn’t stay.
Then I would go after Jones for a 2 year deal with an option year or a 3 year deal with an option year. Jones is only 30 and a 30-33 year old center fielder isn’t a bad thing. This would elimnate Juan and have could have our outfield be Ethier/Jones/Kemp and have Repko as the #4 with Young maturing in Vegas.
We all make mistakes and how you grow and get better is to learn from them. I think last year Ned made a mistake by signing Juan hoping to give the team a Cardinals look from the 80’s with speed at the top of the order, since he wasn’t able to land a bat. Ned wanted to make a splash and it was a mistake not being patient. Here’s to hoping Ned will be patient. If he can make a couple of tweaks the future and the present will make our summers fun!!! Go Blue!!!!
I would offer 3 years 52 million with a mutual 18 million dollar option for a 4th year to Jones. Which would be about 17.3 million a year. Trade Pierre and eat 16 million of the remaining 36. Play Ethier in left, Jones in center and Kemp in right for the next 3-4 years. Let Nomar and LaRoche battle for third. If a reasonable trade cannot be reached for Cabrera, which looks highly unlikely.
dcollins that was a great post.
Welcome DCollins and nice post. Well said and I agree totally.
I am a huge Pierre basher (it should be said we all like the man, just not the player, Pierre really is one of the good guys out there), but feel the 4-5 spots in the rotation are more important than him on or off the team. Same goes for 3b.
DCollins,
I hope Santa brings you a new laptop.
I hope Ned is reading this thread.
Welcome to the fray Shawn, dcollins and any other “rookies” on the board.
Thank you sir, I have written a couple of blogs but it does not seem that anyone ever takes the time to read them, so I figured that I love to talk Dodgers baseball and this seems to be the best forum. Love it!!!!
Welcome fellow rookies. I hope you guys enjoy the blog. I’m pretty sure you guys will probably think I’m crazy as most everybody else does. I look foward to hearing your opinions and thoughts.
I do not know what it would take, but if it did not cost us a blue chipper, I would deal for Prior. That is the type of risk I would be willing to take and not get upset if it did not work out. He is only 24-25 years old and if he can get healthy will be a stud!!!! Again at the right cost.
I agree wih you on Prior Shawn, the Padres just signed a low-risk/high-reward guy in Wolf and now they are talking about pursuing Prior. I do not want to see that happen becuase if the Pads get lucky and both guys stay healthy, their rotation would look like this:
Peavy
Young
Maddux
Prior
Wolf
That would be the best rotation in baseball and would make it tough for us to take the NL West crown.
best rotation in BB? cmon what about Boston? the Angels will be very good too. Two injury prone guys at the back end…that doesn’t look so great to me. And Maddux is a five inning pitcher these days.
if the dodgers keep the team they have now…mark my words they will end up where they left off last year!!ned better do something and get going because his job is on the line….at the end of next year.
1. sign jones
2. dump pierre
3. sign kuroda
job done
jspelk, If you noticed I prefaced that claim with, “if they get lucky and both guys stay healthy”. Peavy is better than Beckett, a healthy Prior is better than Beckett, not to mention Young who matches up favorably against Dice-K, and even if Maddux and Wolf are only 5 inning guys, they will give you 5 quality innings plus the Pads have one of the best pens in baseball. Boston also has some unproven guys like Bucholz and Lester and I’m not sold on Schilling next year. The Angels will have a good rotation but I don’t think it’s as good as Boston’s so yeah I still think that if the Pads aquire those 2 guys and they both stay healthy, they will be the best.
I agree germandurazo. The Dodgers need to make some moves if they plan on contending for anything except 2nd and 3rd place in the division. They don’t have to trade away the farm but a few players should be let go and Jones should be brought in. Give him 4 years at $78 million and a mutual option for the 5th year worth around $20 million. It’s only money and the Dodgers need to spend some.
when Prior was healthy he had better numbers than Beckett but over the last 3 years Beckett has matured and is one of top 5 pitchers in the game. But I agree with Charris that if he is healthy a big if, he would be nasty as a number 3 or 4 starter. Ned you took chances with Hendrickson, Loiaza, these soft toss batting practive pitchers, take a shot and get a diamond in the rough in Prior. He is a SoCal boy. Maybe it works and maybe it does not, but it would be a whole lot better than suffer with a loiza, hendrickson type.
Prior put up those numbers against a horrible NL Central back then. I’ll take Beckett over Prior 365 days a year. I’ll take Bills over Prior 365 days a year. He’s done. He was overused in college and brought to the majors to soon after his college career ended. He won’t win 20 games for the rest of his career. He has a horrible throwing motion putting to much strain on his shoulder and elbow. His injuries have ended what might have been a good career.
Lot of if’s. As we can attest, injury prone pitchers usually come back to haunt you.
If anybody belongs in the HOF it’s Walter F. O’Malley, as a Dodger fan, when they were in Brooklyn many said he’s not a baseball man, he’s a business man. Let me tell you he knew his business. Branch Rickey hired him to do all the thinking outside of baseball and he did. He couldn’t keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn but he sure tried and they were a great team under him as they continued to be so all the way into Los Angeles, because the business man new who the right guy was to fit into the right spot in his organization.
Wow Cameron I did not know you were James Andrews incognito, just joking good points you made…You may be right, but I was talking to Dennis Llewellyn about a month ago and he works with the Cubs in their Minor league system and says he is progressing nicely. He may be towing the company line but he sounded as if he still beleived in the kid. Sometimes you have to take a risk and this time if it did not cost you a top of the line prospect it may be worth it.
dcollins – thanks for your maiden voyage post. I agree with just about everything you said. The one disagreement would be that Delwyn Young does not need any more seasoning. He is something like 25 this season and his last two seasons at AAA were about the best in our organization. Another season in the minors finishes his career I would expect. He is not a blue chip but has the ability to be a very reliable player having done everything the organization has asked him. He moved from 2B, when Kent was acquired, to OF only to find Andre was acquired. He returned to the minors last year having posted the best BA in all of minor league baseball in 2006.
I expect he only will be a Dodger if Kemp or Ethier are traded. He may be a chip in a trade for relief pitching or part of a multi player trade. To make him a part time player is an injustice to him if the only possibility of full time work with the Dodgers is through an injury.
I have never dissed Juan Pierre, as I don’t any Dodgers, but do feel we would improve in the OF without JP and we do have a lead off hitter in Raffy. The Odalis Perez solution is costly short term but allows payroll flexibility long term. He is simply too expensive to sit on the bench.
GO DODGER!!
you’re right jhall, that is a lot of ifs, but I really don’t want the Pads to have the opportunity to make it work. Even in short spurts (between injuries) that gives them favorable match-ups more times than not. I don’t like it because I think it gives the Pads a chance to contend.
Penny, Billz, and Lowe can hang with anyone 1, 2, 3. Get Kurudo and let Schmidt and Loiaza battle for the 5th spot. Schmidt at 60-70 percent can hang as a 5th starter. If Schmidt surprises and comes back strong, we’re in clover.
Operating from fear is never a good proposition Charris.
Just look at Ned’s panic moves.
agreed jhall, but Kuroda is still a risk, will he be Nomo/Dice-k-esque or will he be the latest version of Irabu/Igawa? Schmidt’s come-back could be a season breaker for us, if he can come back and be anywhere near where he was pre-injury, we would be in great shape and in contention to take the NL entirely.
Kuroda isn’t as much of a risk as Jason Schmidt is or Loiaza.
I don’t think acquiring Prior would be a panic move, if he can bounce back, he would be a legit front-line starter. You have to think that if the Pads have enough to trade for him, our B-level prospects would probably do the trick. If the cost isn’t too high, why not gamble?
All the Dodger starters are right handed and so is Kuroda. How importantant is it to have a left hander? I don’t know much about this Kid Greg Miller.******Well it looks like Colletti is going after Andruw Jones and it’s said they might not have to much of a fight for him. IF THEY DO LAND HIM, this definately pushes my name sake to the left, leaving Ethier/Kemp in right. I wonder what the next move would be. I’d rather Jones than Rowand, even if Andruw had a rough year, last year. I would be very suprised, like a kid on his 10th birthday, if they traded Pierre away. Or a 1 year old seeing Santa Claus. But I wouldn’t let my hopes up to much.
Shawn, I would take the risk on Prior if we traded for a top tier pitcher and Schmidt and Loaiza were gone. I love Prior but he was overused at a young age just like Kerry Wood. Prior may be able to salvage a career in the pen but I think his days as a starter are through. I hope I’m wrong because he is a good guy but to have so many problems at such a young age aren’t very promising.
Miller is having huge issues with his control. It seems as if he cannot overcome the way Ankiel could not. Tons of talent and unhittable when he gets it over but a longshot to recover. Kershaw is the real deal hopefully he will be ready to contibute by july or august. He has a great attitude and is nasty. Elbert if healthy (boy this sounds familiar) is a sleepr to help out next year.
NOW LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPEN TO KEMP OR ETHIER. IF JONES APPEARS ON THE SCENE.
I think it’s very important that the Dodgers sign Andruw Jones in the next few days if they are to be a player in the West next season. With the addition of Joe Torre in the dugout, you can forget about any of the shananigans that went on last year. With a bat like Jones, at no “player” cost to the Dodgers, you have a legit 3 or 4 power hitter. If Kemp and Loney live up to the hype and Kent returns and has a normal year, the Dodgers will definitely be a better team, even if they do nothing else this off season. I do have one question though; If Jones ends up in CF, and Pierre goes to LF, what happens to Ethier? I assume Kemp will go to RF and LaRoche to third.. What a shame the Dodgers have to bench or lose a guy with Ethier’s talent because of Juan Pierre, really a shame!!!
The biggest fear I have with Kershaw is that they’ll bring him through the system to fast. We have to remember he has a young arm. No matter how good he pitches I don’t think he should enter the show until he’s 22. They should give him time at each level for his arm to gain strength every year. I also hope the big leagues aren’t to big for him. These to things killed Edwin Jackson. He was brought up to fast and the stage was to big at the time. I think it’ll be the same for Kershaw if the bring him up next year.
ok what are the chances that Prior comes back and pitches better than Beckett? A million to one? Ill take Bostons rotation today, tommorrow, and all year long over SDs. Don’t forget the advantages that Peavy has pitching in PetCo and in a weaker league.
Jackson was nothing like Kershaw as a prospects. Nothing. Jackson had some raw talent and not a whole lot else. Why pick some arbitrary time or date to bring up Kershaw? When’s ready to contribute he’ll be here.
If they bring him up before he’s 22 or 23 he’ll have arm problems his whole career and be another story of what might have been.
Most pitchers with Prior’s history of injuries at his age do not ever come back to any semblance of their former greatness. I’d pass on him.
Andruw can be had for 3 years at about 50-55M. Do it Ned.
Then eat Pierre’s salary.
Signing Jones, just to get rid of Ethier or Kemp in order to keep Pierre is a huge waste of money.
Ethier was a better player than Jones last season. Signing Jones in order to play Kemp/Ethier is a huge upgrade.
I hope you are wrong. What happened to the days of Welch, Valenzuela, Hershiser, Martinez where they brought up the young kids and put them in relief for 3-6 mos and then eased them into the ML clubhouse and atmosphere. Even Dave STewart started that way. This way you can limit their innings. Sort of like what they did with Bills last year. Although he should have been in the rotation from day one.
jungar I hardly ever disagree with you but I have to on this one. Jones in a horrible year was still a better player than Either. He had above league averages in HR and RBI’s and hit like ****. And his glove speakes volumes all by itself.
Signing Jones, just to get rid of Ethier or Kemp in order to keep Pierre is a huge waste of money.
Ethier was a better player than Jones last season. Signing Jones in order to play Kemp/Ethier is a huge upgrade.
Posted by: jungar@wsgcorp.com | December 3, 2007 02:14 PM
If Ned Colletti could read 1 post, this should be it.
I’m hoping if Colletti is true to his feeling of going with a younger team, he will feel like most of you do, including myself, to forget about Cabrera and see if he can unload Pierre. Jones, IF WE GET HIM, would be a great addition, for a couple of years, if we did not have Pierre. ETHIER LF**JONES CF & KEMP RF. I like it. Ned has to see this, unless he’s still thinking of Cabrera. LaRoche looked pretty good, lately, you never know. WAKE UP COLLETII.
Trading away Ethier to accomodate Pierre is insane.
Trading away anybody to accomodate Pierre is insane.
Pierre needs to go at any cost. Ethier, Jones, Kemp would be a nice outfield. Pierre holds this team back.
Keep it up guys. Let’s leave no doubt about what Dodger fans expect.
Step 1: Pierre gone.
Step 2: who cares.
This is what I’ve been talking about, I don’t like the idea, but I think Colletti will pickup Jones on his way to giving Kemp to the Marlins, with others, to get Cabrera. I HOPE I’M WRONG.I hope he reads these posts and goes the way of the majority, but he may be looking for the big fix.
Alright guys. Until tomorrow.
Even Ned can’t be stupid enough to pay the price the Marlin’s are asking for Cabrera. It’s just dumb.
But, then again, it is Ned.
If Ned gives away our future for Santana or Cabrera, then they should put his picture in the dictionary with the stupid definition.
Along with insane.
Furcal
Martin
Kemp/Loney
Jones
Kent
LoneyKemp
LaRoche
Ethier
Pitcer I’ll take it!
Except for Kent this also gives us a good defense. Crucial to a good pitching staff by the way. If Kent hits 20 homers and has 90 rbi’s it is worth it.
We can disagree Cam. I guess it depends on what you are measuring with.
I am not a fan of totals.
Jones had lower OBP, BA and Slugging in 07 than Ethier
Jones had lower OPS+ and Runs Created
That said, Jones is the best CF I have ever seen live. I would also rather have him than Ethier based on career history and HR potential.
All I was saying was I would rather have 20 million to spend on other players (pitching) and Ethier than Jones and Pierre.
Jungar,
Sounds like you are in favor of a Young, Kemp, Ethier outfield and getting some pitching or other needs with the extra cash. I would be OK with that and think it is the way to go.
I guess if we didn’t have one of the better farm systems and some of the best prospects in the game, I would be looking to make some deals. However, we have the 33rd best prospect in baseball and he is a 3rd baseman. Also the best left handed pitching prospect. Why mess with it? We’re in good shape.
yeah that works for me…Id feel much better giving 600Abs to Young over Pierre or 600abs to LaRoach over Nomar…..
What I see happenning though is signing Jones and the trading Kemp as a center piece (no one will want Pierre/Ethier by giving us talent in return) in a deal to bring in Bedar or Haren.
I fear we will loose Kemp to uprgrade a spot that Ned brough in Tomko, Schmidt, Wolf and Hendeirckson to fill yet can’t.
So I guess I will just have to hope and pray trades can’t be made…
Jungar,
Even Ned is not that stupid.
Although his past history is.
How about this? ESPN’s Jayson Stark
“Probably since they hope to include him in a Johan Santana deal, the Red Sox won’t trade Coco Crisp until that situation is resolved. The Rangers liked Crisp, but are considering interesting alternatives: Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre. If only Ned Colletti could get someone to take his Pierre contract. Then he could sign another one almost equally as bad. Then he could trade Aaron Rowand a year from now and repeat the process. ”
I don’t like Stark’s sarcasm but other reports indicate the Dodgers are interested in Rangers 3B Hank Blaock.
GO DODGERS!!
To defend Ned. He has done and said all the right things so far…….even some of the names of guys we have gone after (Bedar, Miggy ,Haren,) are the right type of players to target (age wise) so lets just hope….
jungar, I agree. So far, Ned has stood his ground and not given in to the outrageous demands of FLA, MINN, and BALT.
Hey, if there was a way to pull off a fair deal, then why not.
Man, I really think we need to give Kemp a full year in the bigs to see what happens both on the field and in the clubhouse before we ship him off.
The way Loney came on with power last season, I’m not so sure that we need to add more than Jones and LaRoche to the mix. If you just switch Jones and Pierre, what is that, like a 30-40 HR upgrade, without losing any other HR talent?
Seems easy to me.
Ned’s only mission is to get rid of Pierre. If he does that and leaves our young core alone, I will be very happy.
If we give up on LaRoche, it will be a huge mistake. He will be a better than average 3rd baseman. Mark my words.
Fix the pitching.
jspelk, I can’t predict the future but I can look at the past. Prior has put up better career numbers than Beckett. That said, I don’t know if he’ll ever rebound and pitch the way he once did. I would say his odds are certainly better than a million to one though (don’t forget that Beckett has an injury history as well). Just for comparison:
Beckett (career) 3.73 ERA 8.51 K/9 1.229 WHIP
Prior (career) 3.50 ERA 10.37 K/9 1.225 WHIP
I’m not saying that Prior is our answer but if the Cubs asking price is reasonable, why not take a chance? He had the same surgical procedure that Schmidt had so he is just as likely to rebound as Schmidt (in fact probably more likely to rebound given their age difference). He may never throw 97 again but he has always had good control and nasty offspeed stuff. So like I said earlier, if we can get him at a reasonable cost, what does it hurt?
Prior is not old enough Charris for us to take a chance on. The Coletti cut off on those types are 34.
lol, whats up jungar? Good point, he’s too young to have a “proven” enough track-record for Coletti. How’s life man, are you getting like zero sleep these days?
LOL..yeah exactly. Yeah sleep is hard to come by. Today is my first day back at work so getting on a normal schedule again will be nice.
Good to hear, do you think Prior is a bad risk assuming the asking price from the Cubbies is reasonable?
Well from what I read Prior will miss all of 2008…
http://www.nwherald.com/baseball/story.php?storyid=803
A. Jones is the best current option for CF, for several reasons:
1. Coming off a bad season, he is the only premium CF who may not command an outrageous contract. (3 years/55 mil is somehow not outrageous by the standards of this year and last.)
2. As jungar pointed out, moving Pierre to LF is the first step to moving him off the team. I’d rather have Ethier or Kemp any day, as would 99% of the rest of the bloggers here.
3. Jones adds more potential power than Rowand and Hunter combined – plus he is defensively the better of Rowand and perhaps the equal/better of Hunter these days. (If we wanted another Matt Kemp with no upside, we could have pursued Hunter…we don’t need another basestealer/high average hitter, we need SLG and HR.)
4. Adding power in CF means we can potentially leave 3B alone, hopefully giving LaRoche a well-deserved LONG look. I think he does infinitely better than year if he gets consistent playing time.
5. Did I mention that a 2-3 year deal wouldn’t clog the outfield for 5 years for a player with declining abilities? How about a 5-year contract, with an option after the 2nd or 3rd year based on performance? I’d love Jones for 5 years, but an option like that protects the team if he really has begun to stink it up.
Get Kuroda…trade Loaiza and Pierre for an average LHP for middle relief/spot starts.
I think Colletti should concentrate on position players right now. Maybe just FA and not trades. FA seem less costly, at the moment. I think the best thing to do with trades is to wait them out. Maybe they might get desparate and lower their asking for talent. I think the one thing that is holding everything up is Pierre’s poor throwing arm and his RBI for lack of HRs. It’s a shame to see Kemp still not having much playing time. He’ll proberbly platoon with Ethier If the ever sign Jones.
Most of us knew he is a HOF but it is nice that the O’Malley family finally gets the recognition they deserve.
I go back to my earlier post and add this from Tony Jackson’s blog, rumors are just that…rumors:
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.
Now I’m a newbie just sittin’ out here in the desert, but I’ve been bleeing Dodger blue back since the glory days of Garvey-Lopes-Russell & Cey, and all the Jones’ and all the Priors and getting rid of all the Pierres won’t solve what’s been seriously lacking since the Gibson-Sax and Scoscia era – heart. How many bases loaded, no out, no score situations and 1-2-3 ninth innings does one have to witness? For years I’ve been telling people how to shutout the Dodgers – walk the bases loaded at the start of every inning because they’ll find a way not to score. Seemed the team was on the right track in ’06 – lot’s of comeback wins and a little swagger, then Colletti put together his “character” team in ’07 and ended up with a bunch of characters. Big names are nice, but give me a bunch of nard-nosed guys who WANT to play who bring some enthisiasm and selflessness to the balpark everyday and you’ll put some butts in the seats.
They’ve got a built-in leader in Martin if he’s willing to take the reins. The young talent they have shoud be given the opportunity to play into their ability, even if it means biting the bullet another year or two and fielding a 500 team. At least it’d be a team you could identify with rather than a bunch of aged mercinaries plodding from paycheck to paycheck living out their golden years.
More rumors and I stress that word heavily!
From the Brewers Blog: http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2007/12/03/dodgers-asked-about-sheets.aspx
The Dodgers have asked about Ben Sheets, Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed.
Nashville – As one alert reader suggested in an earlier blog this evening, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the West Coast team that asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin about right-hander Ben Sheets today at the winter meetings.
Now, don’t get all excited just yet. There was no trade proposal. The Dodgers merely inquired about Sheets, probably seeing if Melvin had any inclination to deal him at all.
Melvin’s usual response to such inquiries is: “Make me an offer.” He wants to see what other teams might be willing to trade instead of asking for certain players. At least, that’s how it starts.
It might never get to a serious stage but the reason I felt it was worth mentioning is that the Dodgers might be one of the few teams that could bowl over Melvin with a trade proposal — which is what it would take to get Sheets.
The Dodgers have so many good young players — outfielder Matt Kemp, lefty Clayton Kershaw, third baseman Andy LaRoche, etc. — that could be packaged for a deal for Sheets. But LA also is dangling some of those in attempts to acquire Florida third baseman Miguel Cabrera or perhaps Minnesota lefty Johan Santana.
Sheets also has a limited no-trade clause, and I have no idea if the Dodgers are on it. Those things usually can be circumvented.
Again, the Dodgers merely asked. There were no trade talks. If it advances to that point, I’ll let you know.
From L.A Times:
NASHVILLE — The Dodgers haven’t given up on adding Andruw Jones or Aaron Rowand to their roster despite learning that the two free-agent center fielders are looking for significantly longer contracts than the team is willing to offer.
The Dodgers want to sign Jones or Rowand to a relatively short deal — two or three years, according to a major league source. But Jones is believed to be looking for a contract worth more than the five-year, $90-million deal that Torii Hunter signed with the Angels and Rowand wants at least five years.
A report that the Dodgers had offered Jones a two-year deal worth $32 million was premature, according to multiple baseball sources.
The pursuit of Jones and Rowand are expected to continue at the winter meetings, which started Monday at the Opryland Hotel. The Dodgers weren’t active on the first day, as several front-office executives, including General Manager Ned Colletti, didn’t fly into Nashville until the afternoon.
The acquisition of Jones or Rowand would not only allow the Dodgers to move weak-armed Juan Pierre to left field, but also would make an outfielder on their current roster expendable and open the possibility for a trade.
The Dodgers also are thought to be among the teams who have contacted the representatives of Mike Cameron in recent days, as Cameron is considered an alternative to fill their need for a center fielder. Cameron will serve a 25-day suspension at the start of next season for testing positive for a banned stimulant.
Among the potential trades the Dodgers are expected to explore this week are those with the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Joe Blanton or Dan Haren. The Dodgers have explored deals for Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, Minnesota Twins left-hander Johan Santana and Baltimore Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard, but consider the asking prices to be excessive.
The Dodgers remain in pursuit of free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. A major league source said the Dodgers have in mind a three-year deal worth upward of $20 million, though the length and value of the contract were said to be “moving.”
The Seattle Mariners are believed to have offered the 32-year-old Kuroda a four-year contract worth $44 million. The Arizona Diamondbacks have offered Kuroda a three-year deal.
Kuroda, who pitched eight seasons for the Hiroshima Carp, announced last week that he would leave his homeland to play in the major leagues.
The Dodgers are also thought to be interested in free-agent right-hander Carlos Silva.
A team spokesperson denied an Internet report stating that the Dodgers have asked the Texas Rangers about a possible trade for third baseman Hank Blalock. . . . The Dodgers signed Japanese college pitcher Robert Boothe to a minor league contract. The 21-year-old right-hander has an American father and a Japanese mother. He attended Asia University and was a member of a Japanese college all-star team that played in Holland over the summer.
Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts just linked this article:
http://www.baseballdigestdaily.com/bullpen/?option=com_content&task=view&id=360
where Ned Colletti postively gushes about the youthful talent in the Dodger organization. Can you believe that Ned said this (capitalization emphasis mine):
“He [Matt Kemp] might wind up being a great CENTERfielder!”
so WHY did we sign pierre then?
There is a lot of truth in what you say,ENCHANTEDSUNSET. A nice name too. It reminds me of a singing group from my neighborhood who use to be called the Enchanters. Hope your name outlasts them. The one I always heard was, put a man in scoring position and the rest is easy. That was told to the other team pitching to the Dodgers. But they had some good days, like Dr. Jeckle & Mr. Hyde. Your right about ’06 too. I think Drew shook everybody up THIS YEAR, than came the Pierre signing. You can’t blame Colletti for Schmidt, he’s not a Doctor. Everything else was minor and Schmidt may still come back. Right now with or without Jones, our outfield is screwed up. Pierre in left may help, but I think he should get some help from the cut-off man or the closes outfielder if that’s possible. Maybe with a runner on third let someone else field the ball, if possible. It’s also terrible to see someone taking second on a fly ball. If he could only supply the consistant power of an outfielder. That can’t be blamed on the doctors. It’s not Pierre fault either. How do you remedy that? It’s easy to say “Put him on the trading block”, but it would course the same trouble for the other team. It’s like using a pencil eraser to erase ink. It’s great seeing my name on a Dodger uniform, but it doesn’t do anything for my confidence. All this is why I think all of Barry Bonds HRs count. I admire him for taking the trouble to make himself stronger. I would have done the same thing if someone told me about it when I was playing. Pierre was around all this time, but I guess he’s too straight. The thing about being a .500 team another year or two. Don’t let messagerbearer read that post. I think we saw the end of the Dodgers using cheap experienced talent. I hope.*** Martin, Loney, Kemp, Billingley & Broxton, that’s quite a young bunch to come up and I wouldn’t want to see any one of them hang for a trade.
I think we need a power bat for the middle of our line-up but I don’t think we need to trade away our future in order to get it especially if the contract is short term. I would say sign a free agent. It could make someone expendable and that way we can make some trades without sacrificing our future It has been mentioned that you don’t trade for a player just to open up more holes that need to be filled. I say we give our younger players a chance. It seems like a lot of teams want them. I hope we keep them.
It’s like Bizzaro Coletti.
Coletti’s exact opposite, who lives in the backwards bizarro world. Young is good. Old is bad. He says “Hello” when he leaves, “Good bye” when he arrives..
to me it sounds like the type of interview that ned would give while logan white holds a gun to his head. i just don’t buy it.
Not really at all Jungar— Everyone judges Ned in hindsight while failing to appreciate context.
He signed JP, Nomar, Gonzo bc Kemp was terrible 140 out of 200 AB, Ethier was god awful for the last 2 months, and Drew had just opted out.
Colletti never said young is bad, but its not like he could allow a major market team to start the season with so many obvious question marks– which would have been the case had Loney started at 1b, Kemp in CF, and Andre in LF– and we wouldnt even have a legit RF.
IN FACT, by not trading away any good prospects in his short tenure as GM it proves that he NEVER though old was better than young…
By Tony Jackson
Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Dodgers’ brief flirtation with free-agent center fielder Andruw Jones came to an abrupt end — for now, anyway — after club officials spoke on Monday with Scott Boras, the Newport Beach-based agent who represents Jones.
“We are nowhere close to a deal,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. “I had the intention of making an offer, but as it stands, it would have been foolish to do so.”
Colletti left the door open to continue negotiations, but only slightly.
“I’m not sure how we would explore it from here when the distance is that great,” Colletti said. “Those explorations would probably have to come from the other side.”
Boras is believed to be seeking a contract for Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner while with Atlanta, in the neighborhood of the five-year, $90 million deal center fielder Torii Hunter signed last week with the Angels. But Jones is coming off his worst offensive season in a decade — he hit just .222, and his 26 home runs matched his lowest total since 1997, his second full year in the majors — and his market appears to be limited.
Given that, Jones might eventually settle for a shorter-term deal to possibly put up better numbers and drive up his price for another run at free agency in a year or two.
The Dodgers turned their attention to Jones when they found another free-agent center fielder, Aaron Rowand, also beyond their price range. Rowand is believed to be seeking a five-year deal worth about $70 million. Unless either Jones or Rowand reduces his asking price — or the Dodgers’ tepid interest in free-agent Mike Cameron increases dramatically — the club apparently will go into next season with an outfield of Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre and Matt Kemp, something Colletti has repeatedly said he is comfortable doing.
I MEAN… thats certainly disappointing, but at the same time pretty crazy to give that kind of money after such a sub par season. If he can get it than more power to him but i doubt that happens…
I can’t imagine anyone paying Jones that much after such a crappy year. Not even Boras can do that. We may still have a shot if Jones and Boras realize it’s in their best interest to take a short contract and build up value by having a good year.
I have been slihgtly checked out, but saw the article on DodgerThoughts that old_fogey posted and was curious what ohters were saying. Excellent remark by Jungar.
Seriously, it’s a must read. Then ask yourself who is this guy, what did he do with the real Ned Colletti, and can you keep him? If this is for real, then we are in for another dynasty. Seriously–it would be the best news from the front office in 20 years (when Gibson was given a 3-year contract).
Please let this be true.
Hello.
ewk216@nyu.edu – agree to disagree type thing.
one thing I want to add in my defense and I think everyone will back it up is that the things I have said about Coletti are things I said about him as it happened in real time. I have always said the same things. To a fault even!! Where you fundamentaly say “but its not like he could allow a major market team to start the season with so many obvious question marks” is where i disagreed then and now. I simply thought the dodgers would have been better then and now if we had done just that. My only real gripes were Nomar (loney earned it) and JP (Repko at time or, better FA or Lofton 1 year )I wasn’t even that botherd with Gonzo at the time. I did question Schmidt as well. Not hardcore though. I was not cool with Chad not starting from the start as I thought Ned should have gotten legit bullpen help in the offseason. That was about it.
I was trying to give Ned some props. He seems to be getting it.
Like yah right now, its better to stand pat with Pierre than to give another crazy contract. And that pains me to say. I of course would play Young over JP in LF. His bat is electric. IMO, right now we need pitching more than anything. I do not trust Loazia and Schmidt to be effective. I am cool with Nomar/LaRoche battle and think we need another reliable reliver.