Responses from Ned Colletti
As we mentioned last week, you can now post your questions for Ned Colletti in the comments of the blog and he’ll answer a bunch of them every other week or so. The first group of questions came in and here are the answers.
I’ve got a question for Ned. Don’t you think that the team would be better with Either as the everyday left fielder? After all he’s a more complete player with some power, a better OBP, and a good throwing arm.
Posted by: fliegel@ptd.net | February 28, 2008 06:53 AM
Andre is developing into a very good player. As Joe and the staff get more acquainted with Andre and others, I’m confident they’ll find a way to get a solid amount of at-bats from all the outfielders. There is another factor to consider as well and that is competition. There are many times that we feel a young player is better served when they must compete for a job and compete for playing time. The competition for playing time in the outfield will hopefully increase the focus and productivity of the entire group. We feel very fortunate that we have four proven outfielders plus Jason Repko and Delwyn Young. And there is always the injury factor to contend with as well. In the matter of a few minutes last Friday, we lost Andy Laroche for two months and nearly lost Nomar Garciaparra for a prolonged period of time. We would have went from having a perceived surplus at a position, to being almost without a clear cut choice. It can happen that fast. Today, we have some outfield depth as well as competition for playing time. The season is 162 games in length and many different unpredictable things will happen between now and the end.
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Question for Ned. If you had it to do over, would you sign Pierre? I am sure he will say yes to save face but I think secretly he must be having second thoughts. At least on the length of the contract.
Posted by: jhall1218@yahoo.com | February 28, 2008 09:45 AM
It’s constructive to point out where the club was when we signed Juan. With J.D. Drew opting out to Boston, we had one outfielder with every day Major League experience – and that was limited to four months. Andre Ethier was called up in May and had four good months and then struggled in September. He was the only outfielder on the Major League roster with an experience who had ended the 2006 season healthy. Prior to signing Juan, we made a strong bid to sign Soriano and Lee among others, but those players did not have an interest in playing in Los Angeles. If anyone is expecting Juan to carry the club, then we’ve signed the wrong player. We see him as a solid complementary player who has great speed and an admirable work ethic and with run-producing players around him in the lineup adds a strong deminision – without run production around him his value is dimininshed a lot. Last season, in my opinion, the club never got untracked. Even when we had the best record in the league in July, I didn’t see it. I believe Furcal’s injury added extra pressure to Pierre – especially when we remember how well Furcal played in 2006 for us. I think it was compounded by the middle of the order failing to deliever more with runners on and lacking power. We still feel that if Furcal and Pierre are healthy all season and if the middle of the order – Jones, Kent, Martin, Garciaparra, Loney and Kemp or Ethier produce in the clutch that Juan’s value to the club increases dramatically. If the players fail to hit in the clutch in the middle of the order, and Juan is healthy and gets 200 hits and steals 60 bases, then Juan’s value is diminished. As far as the duration of the contract is concerned, those terms are negotiated and sometimes you have to extend a player out longer than usual. If you look back at the history of our deals in the last three off-seasons, only Pierre’s contract extends beyond three years. Many deals were for one or two years. I believe in negotiating the short-term deal whenever possible. From time to time, that’s not possible and so you either sign the player or you pass. But at the end of the day, you’d better have big league players on your club. And the day before we signed Juan Pierre we didn’t have one everyday player on the roster who had played more than one full season in the big leagues as an outfielder.
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Ned –
How do you deal with so many non-roster players ? Are they really expecting to make the team or do they hope to get noticed by another team ? If another team is interested, do you trade them or release them or something else ? I feel for a pitcher like Jason Johnson who does well, but has little chance of making the team. There seems to be a lot of talent in this pool this year.
Posted by: scottkinsey@yahoo.com | February 28, 2008 02:04 PM
The players in camp as non-roster invitees serve many purposes. First of all, it provides the player with the opportunity to play in front of the Major League staff without being part of the 40-man roster. Spring Training performances do not tell everything, but the impression a player leaves with the Major League staff and front office lasts a long time. Even if a player doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, how they perform and carry themselves will go a long way in determining if they get called up during the season – or for that matter, picked up by another organization. If another team shows interest, we can trade them or sometimes a team will wait to see if a player gets released so they do not have to send a player back. From time to time, there are key players who make a club better by being a non-roster invitee – Saito and Beimel are two strong examples.
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Ned –
A second question is if you could change anything about today’s typical player contract or baseball rules, what would you do ? To me it seems that managers might have to make a decision based on a contract or rules rather than what is best for team. For example, a team might choose to keep a player who is "out of options" instead of someone else.
Posted by: scottkinsey@yahoo.com | February 28, 2008 02:13 PM
The option situation is dicey from time to time. In my mind, for us to outright a player who is out of options – thus exposing him to be selected by another team – I would have to know that we definitely have a better player available. There are times were a player who is out of options is kept, while a player with just a slightly better camp is optioned. While that might not seem fair to the player with the better Spring Training camp, it does provide the organization with an extra player in the event of injury or a lack of production. Players who can play in the Major Leagues are precious and having as many as possible in the mix is important.
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Hey question for NED?:
First of all great job with the way you handled the job of GM this offseason, i think you did an exceptional job with the acquisition of Jones and Kuroda without letting go of the kids. Now onto the question, we all know the logjam is a somewhat problem but if a trade is necessary, wether it be Pierre or Ethier, what would you be looking for in return? Pitching, Fielder, Relief etc..
Posted by: dahustlasbac@yahoo.com | February 29, 2008 09:25 AM
We’re always on the watch for pitching. As of now, the fifth starter spot is open and there is competition in the bullpen. Rare is it when a team goes an entire season with just five starting pitchers, so that is a priority – not only for the Dodgers but for practically every other club as well. We also feel that Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald are close to being Major League pitchers. If they do not make the club out of Spring Training, it is imperative that they continue to refine their games in the minor leagues. There’s more to pitching than just throwing. It’s vital to be able to hold runners, know how to field the position, know to lay down a bunt. That said, if we could find a bona fide starting pitcher who is easily better than who we currently have and the cost in players going back wasn’t excessive, we would do it. Same with a reliever, although we’re pleased as of now with the choices in the camp.
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Another question for Ned is after seeing what Ariz. and Colorado did last year, why do the Dodgers block their younger players with declining veterans? Why not just let the young guys play? After all even Boston stuck with Pedroria last year after a slow start and he came around to be a valuable member of that squad.
Posted by: fliegel@ptd.net | March 1, 2008 08:17 AM
It’s a tough call. Los Angeles might be a tougher place for a young player to play so we need to be as certain as possible that the young players are prepared as much as possible for everything that is going to come their way. In Colorado’s case last year, the key players for them, in my opinion, were Helton, Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe, Francis and Tulowitzki. Of that group, only Tulowitzki is considered a young player. The rest are in their prime. Arizona is a younger club and a more accurate reflection of your point. They however, did have a vast majority of their key players in their prime as well – Byrnes, Hudson, Webb, Davis and Valverde. When we have signed the veterans, it has been because we had not witnessed enough consistency the previous season to take that chance. For example, Matt Kemp has a chance to be a tremendous player. He had a wonderful 2007 season and had an historic early few weeks in the big leagues in May of 2006. From around July 1, 2006 through the end of the season he struggled, hitting about .180 without any power (11-for-62, .177 with 0 home runs and 6 RBI). His defense and base running are areas in need of improvement. So as we entered the 2006-2007 off-season, we weren’t convinced we should automatically make Matt the right fielder based on the last three months. Another example is James Loney, who looks primed for a great season. It took a little while for James to hit for power. During the 2006 season, he had hit 12 home runs in 468 at-bats and then started in Vegas in 2007 and hit one home run in 233 at-bats. So in more than 700 at-bats – most in AAA in a hitters league and ballpark – James had hit 13 homers. We knew the power would develop, we just didn’t know when – which turned out to be last September when he hit 9 homers in little more than 100 at-bats. In some cases, we would rather err on the side of the veteran. One of the reasons being, if the veteran can’t cut it, there is still a young player available. If there is no veteran available and the young player isn’t ready, the cost to acquire a veteran player from another club in season would be very prohibitive. As time goes on more and more of our young players will get the opportunity to play. And a year from now, we may be fielding one of the youngest teams in the National League.
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Question for Ned: In your discussions with Nomar, is he more concerned with regular playing time or seeing his family during the season and playing for the Dodgers? Likeable as he has presented himself, I feel this may answer whether or not we see Nomar in LA after this season.
Posted by: patriotacts425@comcast.net | March 1, 2008 03:43 PM
I think Nomar wants to play all the time and I know he enjoys being in Los Angeles near his family and friends. He is also someone who has consistently told us that he’ll do what is ever best for the club – just so it’s communicated to him so he can prepare himself.
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And finally, here’s the lineup in Fort Lauderdale:
Pierre, LF
Furcal, SS
Young, RF
Jones, DH
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Lindsey, 1B
May, C
Hu, 2B
Inside the Dodgers 
Ned what is the status of Scott Elbert? I have not seen any updates on him and was wondering what is a realistic expectation of him this year.
It is great that you are taking questions and you do not seem to be afraid to answer the tough questions. I, like many others, have often questioned your moves, but I appreciate your candor.
Ned – I’ve been one of your harsher ctitics, but I must say that I too appreciate you’re candor and am glad to see that there is some reasoning behind the moves.
My biggest question is: Are you and the organization as a whole totally committed to the youth movement? As fans, we get to hear all the hype about the young guys coming up, but generally only get a glimpse of them before they’re shipped off to another team for a lesser veteran.
Second question: Do you honestly feel Pierre’s offense with a below average OBP overcomes his lack of throwing arm? especially given Ethier has more pop and vastly better defense? Seems he gives away outs on offense to the tune of 500/year, and has no chance of throwing someone out 2nd to home. For a team that the manager projects out to be in a lot of 1 and 2 run games, that’s not a good combination.
When I read “Kemp or Ethier” my flesh crawls. What does Kemp have to do to secure an everyday spot? Spend three months at AAA like Loney?
We all wonder that Kahli. I for one would rather have Kemp in the daily line-up and have him struggle at times and grow, rather than have him ride the pine in favor of JP. Same goes for Ethier. Kemp’s one of those guys you pay to go see. Can’t imagine anyone saying, “Yipee!! Pierre’s playing today, so let’s go and see if we can get tickets for the game.”
If Matt Kemp sits when Ethier plays because Pierre is playing 162 games, then Colletti and/or Joe Torre need to be fired.
Sure, Pierre is an ok complimentary player, but when you have better players riding the pine, then I say BS!!!!
Stand up and be counted, Ned!
Us fans are NOT going to put with “Kemp or Ethier” sharing time AT ALL!
Don’t play us for fools!!
Come on, Dodger fans! Let your voice be heard!
Thanks for the low down on the Pierre signing Ned. Drew did leave us high and dry and I do recall you talking to Soriano and Lee. I would still rather see Ethier starting over Pierre.
i still do not understand why so many ppl on this blog read into the spring training lineups as must as they do. its spring training!
and btw, Ned doesnt make the lineups…torre does. and come opening day…if pierre is starting then he deserves to be starting! THEIR ARE REASONS WHY THEY ARE THE COACHES AND GM’S AND WE ARE JUST THE FANS! they know something that we dont
As long as we are winning, it won’t matter. We’ll see how it goes when the season starts.
Fool count:
1 – joey_rock
Ned thank you for the great answers to some great questions..
How about that Kershaw?
Joey, I like your spirit, but I feel you give WAY too much credit to the brain trust. They can get fired, just like everybody else.
I am just seriously excited about the fact that it’s baseball season again. On top of that, the sheer fact that just about anyone can win the west makes it a very exciting year. I feel like the pitching staying healthy has a whole lot more to do with our success than the offense. Now of course, back in 03 was that the year our pitching was amazing and we had absolutely no offense? So, obviously, we have to have some offense… but with a normal year out of Andruw, and a productive, not overpowering lineup, I think we’ve got just as good a chance as anyone. BTW, is anyone doing play by play today, looks like we’re up 1-0 so far
Look folks, I have NOTHING personal against any player on the Dodgers, but we the fans foot the bill either directly through ticket, parking and team merchandise sales or indirectly through advertisers that we buy products from.
As ticket prices have skyrocketed at Dodger Stadium the last couple of years, don’t we deserve to see the best players playing?
And for those of you who think that stubborn pride, contracts, and veteran loyalty don’t play a part in this, you need to wake up.
The box score has been on bottom of 2nd now for a realyl long time, looks like a long inning for the O’s… That would ****, Chan Ho has been great this spring
There won’t be any play by play because there aren’t any radio feeds of the game today or in the next three days. Our radio team is going to China with the split squad, so actually there won’t be any play by play until Thursday because that game is on MLB.TV. So I’ll have play by play of that game.
I take that back!! It had to update the D’s top of the third that was a 3 run inning! nice… anyone know what’s going on in the game?
Thanks Alex, any fans out here in Vegas that are excited about the 51’s this year too, because the way things are going the AAA club is going to look good too.
Great post scott@whittermailing.com. I feel the same way. McCourt and Colleti need to get the message, “Play the players the majority of the dodger fans want to see, or we won’t go to the games!” In other words, play Ethier and Kemp and sit Pierre! Same goes for Nomar when LaRoche gets back.
Kemp with a double and Furcal with a triple last inning
I do know Pierre reached on an error, Young walked and Jones singled in Pierre in the first. We also just put up 3 runs in the third, with Furcal, Kemp and Young all having RBI’s. Furcal has a triple and Kemp has a double. Chan Ho Park has thrown 3 perfect innings.
From Diamond Leung:
Tom Martin, a left-hander making a pitch for a second stint with the Dodgers, was given his unconditional
release. That leaves Hong-Chih Kuo and Mike Myers as the lefties vying to make the team out of the bullpen. Pitchers Mario Alvarez, James McDonald, Jon Meloan and Justin Orenduff were reassigned to minor league camp.
Blake DeWitt, the scheduled starter at third base in today’s game, has been officially invited to big league camp. The 22-year-old former first-round pick will provide depth at a position where the Dodgers are thin with injuries to Andy LaRoche, Nomar Garciaparra and Tony Abreu.
Nomar Garciaparra and Mark Sweeney have been removed from the roster for the two-game exhibition series against the Padres later this week in China. Garciaparra has a swollen right hand, and Sweeney has a sore left knee. For now, minor leaguer Kevin Howard will be added, as the travel squad heads out to China on a flight Wednesday.
thanks Alex
In the third, Hu singled and Furcal tripled him in. Young singled Furcal in and Kemp doubled in Young.
Josh I know this is a little off the wall, but is there a way to buy pictures that Jon takes. I know this may be alot of work, but he takes classic pictures. I, for one, would be interested in buying.
I know that McCourt likes to make money and that would be a new revenue source.
Oh and Juan Pierre is 0 for 3.
Anyone think we should really consider keeping Hu on the roster rather than a broken Abreu?
Our left fielder doesn’t get enough credit. He can run really fast. Because of this he fits perfectly into our lineup. Many people who aren’t baseball experts don’t realize how important it is to fit in, rather than just being some other guy who can hit but doesn’t make nearly as much money.
–Laszlo Toth
Is Ton Abreu out of options?
FYI
Spring stats are available at mlb.com and you can narrow it down for Dodgers only. Guess what player is 20th in runs scored? 0 rbi? .276 OBP?
Not counting today’s 0-3 performance.
Alex, Thank you so much for your play by play occasions, and we do understand that you can’t always get the broadcast information to provide us with the play by play. It’s really made ST enjoyable for me when you do have it, since I don’t subscribe to the MLB Audio or TV.
Does anyone think that Chan Ho would consider going to Vegas as an insurance policy for both Loaiza and Schmidt?
You have to be a bit concerned about Abreu. I did like his play last season, but he did go through a controversial disability episode with the club when he was sent down to AAA. It sounds like he’s not healing as one would expect, and I think he’s going to miss what would have been a real opportunity for him to make the club. Now I see him heading back for Vegas to prove that he can stand up to the regular playing routine.
Our left fielder runs so fast that he can actually steal first base. He could do this even when he’s on the Disabled List, but he never goes on the DL. He just rubs dirt on it.
–Laszlo Toth
My thoughts exactly messagebear…. On another note, have we seen anything at all from Eric Stults since his awesome game in NY a couple years back…
The competition in the outfield is a bunch of bunk. Fact is that competition for playing time CREATED some of the clubhouse issues last year. Competition does nothing when its clear who should be playing and who shouldnt, and its basically completely ignored. Also whoever is the middle of the order will not increase JP’s value Ned. JP does what he does regardless of anyone else. You’re saying that a better heart of the order will hide JP’s defeciencies? Fine. Thats not exactly a ringing endorsement. Ned will never ever ever get rid of JP. Sad.
Our left fielder never gives up. He once scored from second on a warm-up pitch. He is so intense that one time he got a bunt single during a rain delay. There were more than two outs at the time, but only very slightly.
–Laszlo Toth
From Wikipedia:
Laszlo Toth (b.1940), is a Hungarian-born Australian geologist who vandalised Michelangelo’s Pietà statue on May 21, 1972.
Wielding a hammer and shouting, “I am Jesus Christ — risen from the dead”, he removed the Virgin’s arm at the elbow, knocked off a chunk of her nose, and chipped one of her eyelids. He was never charged with the crime, in view of his apparent insanity. On January 29, 1973, he was committed to an Italian psychiatric hospital. He was released on February 9, 1975, and was immediately deported to Australia where he had studied prior to the attack; Australian authorities did not detain him. He is believed to reside in Melbourne, Australia.
Toth is the eponymous inspiration for books of letters by Don Novello.
brandon,
I think Chan Ho has surprisingly been very good this spring. I think at this point in his career he might go along with being sent down with Loaiza being so vulnerable – though Ned does like those crappy contracts.
Our left fielder is humble. He’ll never get a “big head.” I mean, really. His head is tiny.
–Laszlo Toth
thanks Puppy, makes sense to me.
brandon – think you have to put Hu above Abreu at this point in time, but both have options, so unless Nomar can’t go when the bell rings, I doubt we see either one on the opening day roster. , but rather Ramon Martinez.
On Chan Ho – why not, he’s thrown well this spring. I believe they gave him a minor league contract, so might as well hang onto him a couple months to see how both he and Loaiza do before making and decisions.
Lazlo, Lazlo, Lazlo… scott – you take this one…
I say this with the chance of getting ripped. But seriously guys, you could talk until you’re blue in the face about how Juan should not even be on the team let alone in the top 3 outfielders. But honestly, what are you going to accomplish by continuing to beat a dead horse? Seriously, we all know who we want to play, and we all know who we feel would provide more production. But I’ve been a Dodger fan my whole life, ****, my office is pracitcally dedicated to them. But in no way, shape, or form am I going to stop rooting for my boys in blue because of who is playing…. I can be angry about it, I can yell, and kick and scream about frustrations that I’ve got. But in my opinion if you’re that angry about it, and you feel that passionate about who plays and who does not…. seeing as how you’re probably not ever going to be on the Dodgers payroll, then perhaps you should go root on the Giants, I hear they have a history of dealing with the same topic day in and day out. Again, this is not to offend anyone or anger any fellow fans. But can we please let this play itself out and let GM’s do what GM’s do, and managers the same. Ok, I’m off of my soap box.
GO BLUE!
Our left fielder is so hard working that he arrives at the park in the morning and starts working out before he goes to bed the night before. Sometimes he does this twice in one day. You have to be fast!
–Laszlo Toth
Brandon I agree with you and that is why I just started ignoring the Pierre posts and try to stimulate other topics…like our 5th starter..2nd lefty out of the pen…etc…it does get tiresome.
Is there anything you would like to discuss?
brandon, I understand your post well and I struggle with whether or not to keep beating that horse or not. But if everyone just acts happy and pumped up then what would Ned or Joe think of that? That they’re geniuses and the fans are %100 behind them?
Speaking of Giants, where do you think our boy Ned came from?
I don’t expect my favorite players to play 162 games these days – who does? But this isn’t an ignorant fan’s rant, but rather a factual argument supported by most baseball experts as well.
peace
dodgerboy,
Park or Loaiza?
Where do you think Kershaw going to fit in this year?
thanks
I do however think I would keep Chan Ho around for sure. Also, it looks like they’re trying Hu at 2nd as well as his natural position at short, I’m sure he could pick up third with no problem. Wouldnt you rather have his bat in the lineup than Ramon Martinez?
What have we become…”Dodgers…love it or leave it?”
dodgerboy & continental I remember people saying the samething in October when a lot of us wanted grittle gone people posted to stop beating the dead horse. If they fix the problem and play the best players their will be no horse to beat. Plus what’s more important? our 5th starter, sencond lefty out of the pen or our everyday left fielder that why I think people keep posting about Pierre.
JOSH,
Could you ask Ned if he thinks LA has more pressure for a rookie than Boston(Pedroia question)?
“Los Angeles might be a tougher place for a young player to play so we need to be as certain as possible that the young players are prepared as much as possible for everything that is going to come their way.”
I thought Dewitt looked good defensively in Saturday’s game. Ramon Martinez can play a lot of postions, but I would like to see a younger guy in there in case Nomar or Kent go down for an extended period.
Our left fielder is only four feet tall and weighs eighty pounds. But his heart weighs nearly three hundred pounds. This is particularly noteworthy because you can’t measure heart.
–Laszlo Toth
Scott personally I am rooting for Park to refind his Dodger blue magic…he had a fabulous career going until Boras went out and did his job and he took the money. Not paying attention to Texas being a hitters park. He was a stud here and who knows. Loaiza has had 1 good year with the white sox 21-9..other than that he has 6 years of eras over 4.79.
Kershaw I expect him to pitch April and May in Vegas and then he gets the call. I remember when the Dodgers use to baby feed their prospects. Hershiser, Valenzuela, Welch all started in the pen so they acclimated to the bigs and gained confidence. Not that I would do that with Kershaw, but it seemed to work with them.
I was really rooting for Dewitt to knock the cover off the ball. He is a good looking prospect. I do not want Martinez in the lineup.
die hard as for your ? I think the 5th spot is more troublesome. Go back and look at the numbers out of the 5th spot last year. Pathetic and that was a bigger reason than Pierre. Nobody is saying you or anyone else is wrong, but lets talk about something else for goodness sake.
Wow thank you Ned for the great answers to some tough questions! I thank you Josh as well for bringing this dynamic to this blog as this has vastly become the best on mlb.com!
“brandon, I understand your post well and I struggle with whether or not to keep beating that horse or not. But if everyone just acts happy and pumped up then what would Ned or Joe think of that? That they’re geniuses and the fans are %100 behind them?
Speaking of Giants, where do you think our boy Ned came from?
I don’t expect my favorite players to play 162 games these days – who does? But this isn’t an ignorant fan’s rant, but rather a factual argument supported by most baseball experts as well.
peace
Posted by: scott@whittiermailing.com | March 10, 2008 11:04 AM”
I do think they deserve to be supported 100% by the fans! That is what a fan is, if you have a problem with something they did you can voice your opinion (and that is what this blog is for) but that does not mean everyone should agree with your “factual argument supported by most baseball experts” … lol. I dont think every fan agrees with their teams front office decisions or players for that matter but a true fan supports the team and its office regardless. And you can call me a blind fan or whatever termanology you guys always use but i will always be a Dodger fan who supports the team and front office 100% no matter what decisions i disagree with.
On a lighter note:
Chan Ho Park pitched great today and i think he should be seriously considered as our 5th starter. Loaiza has pitched pretty good as well but just like Ned said above the more competition the better focus the players get so we shall see how everything shapes out! We are starting to look better and better every ST game! DODGERS IN 08 BABY!!!! CHAMPIONS!!!!
brandon – don’t think it’ll be a matter of wanting or not wanting Hu or Abreu rather than Ramon, but I doubt Nedco will want another rookie for the spot, hence the back-up roll goes to Ramon by default. If on the other hand Nomar is completely down, I think Hu’s right there along with DY as a short term fix. At this point though IMO unless Hu and Abreu are going to be everyday players, I think we’re better served by them playing at AAA and staying sharp incase they are needed for Nomar and/or Kent somewhere down the line.
All of Ned’s answers are total self-serving BS. He thinks he’s a well-rounded GM, but I don’t see anything that he had accomplished for the Giants organization before being hired with the Dodgers.
He wanted to latch onto Schmidt even when the Giants were not making any major effort to negotiate with Schmidt. Ned thought he was more clever than his former boss, and we know how he screwed up that situation. With Pierre, it’s well known that Pierre’s old team, the Cubs, did not want to keep him. Ned thought he outsmarted his previous boss again by offering Pierre 5 years instead of the 4 year Giants’ offer. So, who came out smarter on that deal? Now I’m afraid over the fact that the Braves did not offer Andruw a deal in order to keep him. Ned thought he knew better than the Braves’ organization, who had Andruw for the best of his years. At least he didn’t offer more than two years this time around, but if Andruw turns up to be out of shape and a step or two slow in CF, we may come to regret that step as well. Of course, it would be one thing if Andruw came to replace Pierre, but something different if he is here to replace Ethier, as seems likely.
The Torre hiring I think was largely a McCourt publicity issue, but I won’t criticize Torre, because we really haven’t seen him manage with the Dodgers yet. I want to believe the best, like figuring that he will really want to field the best team for us. I do think that we would have been better served if we had been able to get Girardi as an aggressive younger manager.
I have nothing good to say about Colletti, and I still continue to hope that he will be gone as soon as his contract is over, and preferably at the end of this season.
Nobody can question my loyalty to the team which is exactly why I can question roster decisions. I don’t really believe in blindly supporting anything, especially our government and on a smaller scale a baseball organization. The problems with the team are very clear. But, most of them are easily fixable. The fifth starter will be Loaiza, unless Ned finds a way to trade him, but with Schmidt not available he’s the guy. He was very impressive yesterday and hopefully in someway that translate to success during the season. Chan Ho Park is an interesting story, but he’s on the outside looking in for sure.
Delwyn Young should have a spot locked up. And I believe it’s Abreu’s spot to lose, but if he’s hurt that spot would then go to Hu or Martinez (though I think he’ll get cut soon) or a we’ll acquire a utility player from outside the organization. Which is fine with me and allows Hu to play everyday in Vegas.
But, this Pierre thing is a very big deal. And I know it’s spring but the guy hasn’t changed at all. Batting .219 with one walk (which was a four pitch walk, not exactly discipline when a guy can’t find the strike zone) is NOT deserving of the lead off spot, let alone the right to start over Kemp and Ethier. Jones is having a rough spring, but he’s not in competition with anybody. He can work on stuff (especially his plate discipline, which he’s done very well with so farm walking six times) and he’ll be there opening day.
Oh yeah and Andrew Jones has just hit a two run home run.
Awesome, thanks Alex!! I thin the one thing we can ALL agree on is that we love this **** team and want them to go all the way! This is going to be an awesome year. I appreciate all the insight, and there’s nothing wrong at all with a little fire in the fans bellies.
thank you alex !
Our left fielder hustles. There’s no stat for hustle. What many people don’t understand is why he never gets a base on balls. It’s because he doesn’t walk. Ever! He even runs while he’s sleeping. He hits home runs in his dreams! Between innings he runs to the bathroom.
–Laszlo Toth
dahus – we’re all Dodger fans… I grew up in SoCal and never could even bring myself to follow the Angels… you might say that the Ds are in my blood – always will be. But, we’re not all lemings being led off the cliff by the pied piper either. Last time everyone had total blind faith in a system, it ended in a bunker.
We may criticize, chastize and bastardize, but at the end of the day we’re still bleeding the blue.
Maybe he is waking up…hopefully he is getting into playing shape…because the 3 games that I saw, he looked slow swinging the bat, lethargic.
Loaiza if he keeps ptiching well may be tradeable…the Phillies need pitching..Phillies have Myers, hamels and Moyer, 45 years old, and who knows what else…come on Ned get on the phone and shed that albatross please! That is my Pierre!
George Lumbard is having a **** of a spring!
If Andurw Jones has anything even close to a normal Andruw Jones year, we will be in great shape… if we can stay healthy
Like Alex said, the frustrating part is that it would be so easy to make this team unbelievably formidable without having to trade or sign anyone. I can almost taste the World Series again and I’d hate for the Dodgers not to make it just because of a bad contract.
Just to beat the deade horse a tad more, I just say this subsection from an SI column “Andre Ethier: baseball’s best backup” Sad. Sad. sad.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/03/10/heyman.giants/
Dodgers beat the Orioles 7-4.
Pierre 0-4
Furcal 2-4, 3B, RBI, R
Young 1-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
Jones 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
Kemp 1-4, 2B, RBI, SO
Park 3 perfect innings 1 SO
Did anyone else realize that the dodgers had drafted David Price, last years top pick by the Rays, out of high school… The ones that get away…Chase Utley, Price, Hochevar, Kyle Blair..You can only imagine what if…Imagine if we had Price, Hochevar, Kershaw coming up.
I wonder if Josh could get Logan White to answer some questions…that would be interesting.
Our left fielder is honest. Once, at first base when the umpire got something in his eye, he called himself out. Then he argued with himself until he got the call reversed. While the argument was going on, he stole second.
–Laszlo Toth
Hey gang, kicked any dead horses lately? LOL
So far Loaiza has the inside track to the 5th spot in the rotation. His last couple of outings have been encouraging. Get Kershaw half a season in AAA and bring him up in July. That kid is awesome. Ned did a good job of delineating the situations and reasons he made the deals but that don’t make them good ones.
I too, understand Ned’s rationale for 2007’s panic, but what does that have to do with the best starting 8 for 2008?
I have to agree with Ned that Matt Kemp wasn’t a proven major leaguer at the beginning of 2007.
But Matt Kemp is ABSOLUTELY A PROVEN STUD as of now. There can be NO EXCUSE for Kemp ever sitting down in favor of Ethier, much less Pierre.
Frankly, I’m stunned that it hasn’t been made clear that Kemp will be in the 3-hole every day. No other Dodger has the combination of average, power, and speed to compete with Kemp. The only guy that even comes close is Martin, who should be in the 2-hole instead of Pierre.
Gotta love Loney, but no speed. Bat him 5th.
PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!PLAY THE KIDS!!
Again, as I stated earlier, I feel like Juan Pierre should absolutely be riding the pine and Ethier shoule be starting. But obviously that’s not going to happen. I will cheer on Juan Pierre as long as he wears Dodger blue
Back to the Chan Ho Park topic. The guy has been lights out this spring… what would it hurt to give the guy a shot in the 5 spot? I mean, other than Loaiza’s contract
Hey, I want Pierre to succeed when he plays, because that helps the team.
I don’t believe that starting Pierre is something that’s unchangeable. All it takes is someone with a little influence – say Frank McCourt listening to Logan White again – to push for what needs to be done.
brandon, you know contracts don’t matter (wink wink).
Again, its not so much JP (ok well it is ) but the way ned analyzes how runs are scored. He’s just wrong. Don’t blame Furcal’s injury for JP. Don’t blame the middle of the order and “clutch hitting.” He did what he did and his value isn’t going to change regardless of who’s batting in front of him or behind him. Until ned understands this and other issues theres really little hope that things will change.
Well… one thing I can tell you is, I don’t think Ethier is getting a fair shake this spring. I understand if you’re going to give a guy the position, but announce it. Just come out and say “Juan Pierre is out starting left fielder” don’t say it’s a possability that Ethier could start. He has not even come close to as many at bats as Pierre this spring, but when he does… what’s his line? anybody? I know he’s got a decent avg. and a homer.
brandon – don’t know if it’s been updated for today’s game or not:
AB/R/H/2b/3B/HR,RBI/OBP/Avg.
JP 32/3/7/1/0/0/0/.292/.219
AE 26/6/7/0/0/2/3/.406/.269
WOW… that OBP difference is killing me
Right. At least be straightforward, huh?
Talk about “competition”, etc.
Well, if certain players are really “competing” for a spot than who has played the best?
I think the “competition” talk, whether it’s LF or 3B is just a smoke screen to keep fans from booing at Vero and the outrage to a minimum. Then, when the end of ST comes and we’ve forgotten it was a “competition”, lo and behold, guess who the starters are? LaRoche’s injury took any controversy away from 3B at least for now and made that choice easy for fans to swallow. To Nomar’s credit, he’s played pretty well to this point.
I just don’t see a realistic way of getting out of this other than to eat Pierre’s contract, and they’re not going to do that.
Well the beat goes on…blah, blah, blah….
haha, very true dodgerboy. The one thing that can make everyone happy is WINNING. Hopefully we come out with a bang this year, we play a lot of division games early on. I’m planning on going to a few at Petco down in San Diego, even though every time I’ve been there, it’s been a horrible experience…. I was there for the game year before last that Danys Bayez blew the 5 run lead in the 9th, and I was there when Penny and Little were ejected, and last year the D’s lost again!!! But I really like going down to San Diego, so, I try to catch a game whenever I can. I live in Vegas, so I get to watch all the games on Prime too though!! I’m so excited for the regular season to start!
brandon = my way of thinking there is, find a match or two and try not to be greedy either in prospects or how much of the contract you’ll eat. Even for a middling prospect and with eating half of the remaining contract, you still save your club millions of dollars.
Paying half the salary for JP to be on someone else’s team isn’t losing face… thousands and thousands of men do it every month – its called alimony.
hahahaha, nice enchanted!!
Maybe Ned can work something out with “Wife Swap”.
Well, at least this year we don’t have to sit through the torcher that is Brett Tomko!!!!!!!!
B Tomko
KC 1w 1l 11.37era 6.1 inn. 13hits 9runs 8er 2hr 2bb 3k
Hey, brandon, we’re in agreement!
Chin Tsao is having a rough go of it for those guys too… Although Hideo Nomo is not doing as poorly as I would have expected. All the more reason that we should keep an eye on Chan Ho, because he’s doing something that’s very difficult
Ned, thank you for attempting to answer my questions you’re brave to do this , and I understand your point about competition being good for helping young players develope, but you still didn’t answer if you thought the team would be better served with a more complete Eithier starting along with Kemp than a one dimensional Pierre. Also do you feel that there’s more pressure on a young player in LA than Boston, because Pedroia did pretty well there with his struggles and all?
Louis Gonzales is batting .520 this spring!!! Florida must not have any up and coming outfielders, so he’s happy.
It’s true young players can fail, but it’s like that old expression “NO GUTS NO Glory”. Sometimes you have to take a chance, and what’s the worst that could happen, a 4th place finish?
16.62… that’s Randy Wolfe’s era in 3 games this spring
Calendar check: it’s March 10.
Remember, Chan Ho, post-injury, has stunk it up everywhere, 2004 – 2007, that’s four seasons. In 2006 he pitched for the Padres and gave up 12 HR in only 69 IP in PETCO (extremely not HR-friendly stadium). Last year he was almost entirely in AAA (for TWO organizations), 135 2/3 IP, 5.97 ERA, 1.50 WHIP. A turnaround this year would be wildly improbable; if he makes the team as a 5th starter, I predict disastrous, Scott Erickson-like outcomes.
I believe dodgerboy55 missed Loaiza’s other good season, which was 2005 with the Nationals. 34 starts, 217 IP (about 6 1/3 per start), 3.77 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.300 WHIP, 18 HR allowed, 173/55 K/BB. Yes, he’s three years older now and still coming back from injury, but even 90% of that is plenty fine for a 5th starter.
Oh, and referencing (Don Novello’s) Lazlo Toth is hilarious.
Being in major-league camp is a great experience for Blake DeWitt, but he is clearly not ready to face major-league pitching. He played high-A and AA last year, and struggled some at Jacksonville, .281 .306 .466 in 187 PAs.
Did anyone point out that this blog is not yet on Daylight Savings Time? That is REALLY old school!
New topic:
Giants pitching.
From ESPN:
The bad news for the Giants was that Barry Zito gave up eight runs and didn’t get out of the first inning the weekend before last in a 23-5 loss to Oakland. But that’s not such a big deal because giving up a lot of hits and runs in spring training is hardly a rarity. No, the discouraging news was the outings by Noah Lowry. San Francisco’s top winner last season, Lowry walked three batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch in 1 1/3 innings his first game, which was nothing compared to his second last Monday. Lowry walked nine batters 23 he threw 24 pitches before anyone took a swing — and fired three pitches to the backstop in one inning for this mind-blowing line:
1 IP, 0 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 9 BB, 0 K, 2 WP, 1 error
How bad was it? The Rangers batted around against Lowry without getting an official at-bat (seven walks and two sacrifice flies).
A couple of days later, the Giants announced that Lowry will undergo surgery to correct a rare muscle condition in his left forearm and will miss at least a month. Which, compared to having Steve Blass Disease, must be considered a favorable prognosis. Here’s hoping that the surgery fixes what was ailing Lowry.
(I don’t agree with that last line, BTW.)
You gotta love it when the G’nats ****.
What’s funny is that pitching is the Giant’s strength position with Zito, Cain and Lincecum! That offense Brain Sabean is putting together might be historically bad.
Another question for Ned: Do you see this blog and others like it as a way for you to keep in touch with what Dodger fans are thinking and feeling? Or do you pay more attention to what the sportswriters say the Dodger fans are thinking and feeling? Or is neither of any consequence?
I may bash the guy from time to time and make fun of how he dresses, but I appreciate Ned Colletti answering questions directly from this blog. In his position with the Dodgers, he is a busy guy, so I consider it a positive sign that he recognizes the on-line community as a significant representation of his customer base.
Of course I understand some of his answers have to be the way they are, e.g., he simply cannot denigrate players on his roster, and we would rightly take him to task for doing so. Having thought-out responses in print, without a worthless press wretch’s filter in between (usually in single-sentence paragraphs), is a great asset to us as fans.
Having said that, I have trouble reconciling two things Ned wrote (emphasis mine):
1. “Today, we have some outfield depth as well as competition for playing time.”
2. “… the middle of the order – Jones, Kent, Martin, Garciaparra, Loney and Kemp OR [OR!? OR?????????] Ethier …”
I’ll believe there is true competition for OF playing time when JP sits for at least 10-15% of the games. Or is traded to the Chicago White Sox.
jhall,
It’s especially nice when the Giants **** and you live up in NorCal. Right now all the fans are just saying ST means nothing, but we’ll see how they change their tune come March 31st.
Question for Ned: If Matt Kemp continues to put up these mind-boggling numbers and Pierre wins the starting LF job out of Spring Training, who will Ethier be platooning with primarily?
P.S. I have always wanted to work in baseball, I have a big-time passion for the game. I’m college educated and an ex-player (still play recreationally) can I send you my resume? Working for the Dodgers in any type of administrative capacity would be a dream come true for me.
Man, forget ST, just check out the depth chart on their own website.
OF: Dave Roberts, Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, Rajai Davis
IF: Dan Ortmeier, Ray Durham, Omar Vizquel, Rich Aurilia, Kevin Frandsen
C: Bengie Molina
They are talking about batting Rowand third and Molina fourth. Ouch. The Dodgers could field a team of all over .800 OPS guys; the Giants could easily field a team of all under .800.
fogey that Giants offense is gonna be historically bad, other than a couple youngsters, the majority of their team is on the down-side of their career. Rowand, Molina, Aurilla as your 3-4-5 is just terrible.
Today’s box score at yahoo shows something interesting.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore;_ylt=Agg1aPcmwmOBtRT26hJv6esRvLYF?gid=280310101
“R Martin 2b 1 0 0 0”
WHOA! Did that really happen?
No, it didn’t. dodgers.com boxscore has it correctly written as
“R. MartinEZ 2B 1 0 0 0”
Got me excited for a moment there.
AB/R/H/2b/3B/HR,RBI/OBP/Avg.
JP 32/3/7/1/0/0/0/.292/.219
AE 26/6/7/0/0/2/3/.406/.269
Posted by: enchantedsunset@msn.com | March 10, 2008 01:21 PM
Hmmmmmmmmmm, looks like a no brainer to me and that doesn’t even reflect the defense.
With other goodplayers Juan is not so bad but without other good players Juan isn’t so good.Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing?
In any case Coletti and I have an obvious difference of opinion. I just don’t think you can score enough runs with Juan Pierre on your team. And then to make matters worse, I don’t belive in giving 2 guys, 1200 plate appearances to hit 10 homeruns combined. Simple as that. Take the names off the jersery for that take. The dodgers as a team hit .278 with RISP last year. Only 9 teams were better. Of course only 2 teams slugged worse.
I am fully resigned(pissed off and dissolutioned)to the fact that Ned and Joe are going to go with Pierre out of the gate. So be it. But if Pierre has an OBP around .300 in May, I would hope that someone wakes up and makes the necessary adjustments. I know if I was Ned or Joe I would want to stake my reputation on the best players available. But, hey, its their careers.
Yep Jungar, double talk.
Yeah I think it will be in Torres hands soon jhall. I mean yeah what else is ned to say..but his belife’s and mine are different in how you run a business or a ballclub. If you empower young people they can exceed expectations. Old guys struggle to meet them. I see this year being as tough as any of the others in recent years. The only way we take this thing is major stepping up by Martin, Kemp and Loney.
Kent and Nomar are going to have to produce also or we’ll finish 4th again. And, if Kent, Nomar, Kemp, Loney and Martin don’t get it done, Pierre is off the hook. LOL.
Nomar so far has looked pretty good. I just hope he can stay healthy until July.
Kent is good for .290 20/80
God only knows on Nomar.
I fully expect him to be on the DL by June anywyas.
I believe he(Nomar)was going to get the veteran nod like Pierre anyway.
Yep, Nomar is brittle. Just has to get us into June/July when LaRoche will be available. It is kind of the scenario I envisioned anyway. But now we don’t have the safety net.
At least if he’s healthy, Nomar has the potential to be a big contributer. The thing about Pierre is, we know what he is going to contribute(or not contribute) and it is just not acceptable. There is no upside.
God help us in 2011 if Pierre is still here. He won’t even be able to get his OBP above .300. It is already on the decline and its not acceptable now.
But, other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?
jhall – do you fell Ned just sold you an Edsel? LOL
For those of you that think Ned just doesn’t want to lower JPs trade value by making derogatory comments, JP’s play so far this spring has already done that.
No, a Corvair. LOL. Unsafe at any speed. Enchanted, he can’t lower his trade value, he never had any.
Hello Mr. Colletti,
Just wanted to start by saying thank you for taking the time to communicate with the fans. It’s much appreciated.
I hope that Schmidt can recover fully this year and help us through the season and on into the postseason. However, if he can’t, many people on the message board have suggested that there are insurance policies on the players, in case of an injury like this.
So my question is this…was there an insurance policy on Jason Schmidt and if so, what would be required to happen for the team to be able to collect on it? Also, if the injury is covered, do you know when and how much money you would have to work with to obtain another player(s)?
I’m sure some of this cannot be disclosed, but if you have any info you could share it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
P.S. Please let Andy LaRoche know that we’re all pulling for him to have a speedy recovery. Can’t wait to have him back in the lineup.
jhall – can’t trade him so I guess my response is:
Then let me be the first to welcome you to Dodger left field Mr. Pierre!!
Now Mr. Kent will seem like he’s a little further away, and Mr. Hamm will look like he’s a little closer, in fact he will be but don’t worry, I think you’ll still be able to three-hop the ball to him…
Now when you get to the dugout, there might be an angry guy staring at you, but he’s just jealous because he’s not playing. Just ignore him, Ned does.
Now if you get on base and don’t score its not your fault, its just that no one else is doing their job.
Now go get ’em tiger!!
LOL! Yea, Pierre, Schmidt, Bombko, Timber, etc.. didn’t get it done. But its not Ned’s fault. He is a complimentary GM not a make a difference GM.
Add Bloaiza, Nomar, Lugo, Baez, Carter, Sao, Hernadez(the washed up reliever we got late last year).
Don’t hold back, just go for the jugular – OUCH!!
Ned you are putting the effect before the cause. Pierre was a bust because his OBP is lower than the league average(especially for batting in the top of the order)and he is a terrible defensive player. That has a trickle down effect on the rest of the team.
I’ll be here all weak. But seriously folks. Take my leftfielder, PLEASE.
“He is a complimentary GM not a make a difference GM” That’s one for the jhall Sports Center highlight reel of comments! LOL
Bashing Ned’s trades and signings has got to be something like hitting against Bombko!
Are you implying that its THAT easy?
Thanks Enchanted, I thought you might like that. Hey, you can be proactive or reactive. I think we are stuck with slow reactive.
Too easy.
Colletti: “Los Angeles might be a tougher place for a young player to play so we need to be as certain as possible that the young players are prepared as much as possible for everything that is going to come their way…As time goes on more and more of our young players will get the opportunity to play. And a year from now, we may be fielding one of the youngest teams in the National League.”
Hey, what’s another year, right? We’ve been playing this waiting game the past 20 seasons. Why rush things when we can all relax and watch the clock strike 21?
Good point Kahli.
You know according to the Mayan calendar, we only have until 2012 🙂
What really bites is that Ned freaked because we didn’t have any proven outfielders when Princess Drew bolted. He could have signed Lofton for one year at half the money of Pierre and we wouldn’t be suffering thru this debacle now. ****, Lofton is still better than Pierre and he is 40 something. Geez!
That is when Pierre will be gone. Coincidence? I think not.
Ahhhhh late night when all the good little boys and girls have gone to bed and the 4 dead horsemen of the apocolypse ride again… LOL
Yippee-Ty-A!!
We do know how to beat a dead horse. LOL
But Pierre has a ring. He is a championship player. Thought I would throw that in so you could hurl dinner.
I can probably hurl dinner farther than JP can throw a baseball!
I guess we can start the count down on LaRoche, since he had 2 pins inserted to reattach the ligaments. The pins will be removed in 3 weeks. ****8 to 10 weeks plus.*****I’ve been pretty busy lately but everytime I come back and check the scoreboard I see nothing but good news. I am happy with the pitching, especially Loaiza, Park & Kuo. Boy that kid Clayton Kershaw. Now I know what everybody was raving about. Trading him in for Miggy wasn’t a good idea, My bad. Because we might have a sansation on our hands. Remind me never to apply for GM. *****It looks like HU & DY & whenever T.Abreu feels better are gonna be busy backing up the Vets.****** I’d rather have them gaining experience, then somebody coming in from the outside who’s been around longer. Once the swelling goes down on Nomar’s wrist & Kent’s Hamstring heels up they will be ready to go.
Just got to hope Nomar can get us to June or July.
I’ll bet you can Enchanted.
I can hurl into the toilet. That is where most of his throws end up.
You know who’d probably make a helluva GM? – Scott Boras. That guy know’s when every conceivable contract is up, who’ll be on the market what year and who will be on the market with them. Granted he’s got a team working on that 24/7, but with that knowledge and an intimate knowledge of one’s minor league system and a way to assess if/when a player’s is projected to hit the bigs…
You’d have someone that was always a year or two ahead of the game.
Gotta watch out too – those rainbows really make a splash when they hit the water!
Our left fielder knows how to win. Our team hopes this knowledge rubs off on some other players, especially the ones from Japan. It is a little-known fact that the Japanese cannot do arithmetic. Sometimes they are actually trying to score fewer runs than the other team. This is because they don’t have numbers at home, only those funny little squiggles they use instead of words.
–Laszlo Toth
Maybe Colletti will get “lucky” like Fred Claire did in 1988. Traded Welch for Alfredo Griffin…who got hurt…and Dave Anderson had a terrific summer in relief at short for the team of destiny. Hang in there, Andre. Instant Karma’s gonna get you…
“And I saw one as a lamb
Opening the seven seals,
With a voice as thunder peals
Over the tempestuous skies!
Four horsemen riding against the stormy wind,
Galloping to war amid thunder and lightening,
Horses with fire in their eyes and nostrils flaring,
Snorting and neighing the battle to win.
A majestic white horse took on the lead,
And the rider was a mighty King,
A crown of glory was placed upon his head
Arrayed in white garments and a bow in his hand.
From a battlefield emerged a fiery red horse,
And the rider was given the power
To make war with a great sword,
And cause men to slay one another.
A black horse arose galloping from the pit of darkness,
And the rider held a pair of scales in his hand
To measure a quart of wheat and barley for a day’s wages
But hurt not the oil and the wine, was the command.
Spewed from the grave, a pale horse lunged forth,
And the rider was the bones of death;
**** followed after him, killing with the sword,
With hunger and with the wild beasts of Earth.
I saw the faithful souls of the slain,
Crying under the altar, blood stained,
Crying with a loud voice, not in vain,
How long, O Lord, till we’re vindicated?
A white horse appeared from the east amid thunder and lightening,
And the rider who sat upon him was the mighty King,
With a sharp sickle in his hand, a day of reckoning,
Evil would not prevail against the King of Kings!”
– Victor Hugo Osorio
Alfredo Griffin – LOL – yeah, that was a good one. Think Oakland may have gotten the better end of that deal.
But Alfredo does have a ring… Hmmmmmmm makes one think now doesn’t it. Well isn’t that special…
I don’t get much free time to post on this blog, but I am astounded by how crass many of my fellow Dodger fans can be.
Josh- Thanks for providing a great forum for us Dodger fans to express our feelings. I appreciate Ned addressing questions in a forthright manner.
Why do so many posters here have to be conspiracy theorists? Why can’t you accept what Ned says? We finally get to hear from the GM himself, and no one shows him respect. I guess that’s the biggest problem with our society right now…somehow people stopped learning to show respect to their fellow man. Message Bear you were the worst…you should be ashamed of yourself.
I’m personally glad that Ned didn’t give in to the temptation of trading Kershaw/LaRoche/Kemp/Loney/Elbert/McDonald this past winter. Sure he’s made some mistakes, but who hasn’t?
I don’t want JP to be a starter either, but at least I can accept the explanation of our GM. I do see a lot of competition for positions this spring. I see the players pushing each other, and I don’t understand how some of you think that DYoung has a spot locked up even though he has struck out only…50% of the time! I’d rather see Repko get that spot.
JHall- I agree that Ned would have been better to sign Lofton than Pierre.
Go Dodgers!
Great stuff Enchanted.
I saw the faithful souls of the slain,
Crying under the altar, blood stained,
Crying with a loud voice, not in vain,
How long, O Lord, till we’re vindicated?
Here we are.
DYoung is out of options Jboydstun. If we try to send him to the minors, another team will scarf him up for 50G’s. They have to find a place for him on the major league team or we will lose him.
The fact that DYoung is out of options, can play 2b, is a switch-hitter, and shows occasional power are viable reasons to keep him up. He would provide depth. Is he the better player? I don’t think so. Right now his spring numbers are very Pierre-like. In fact, JP has a higher slugging pct.!
hmm..
if you like candy, but you like ice cream more and your options are the following..what would you do?
1. eat ice cream now, but never eat candy again
2. eat candy now, but you have to wait 30 days to eat your ice cream
Ever notice while Kemp and Kershaw grab the headlines, and most of us lament the left field situation, James Loney quietly goes about his business to the tune of .369?
I really like that kid.
If current form continues and he keeps improving, Kemp’s always going to be the “straw that stirs the drink” (as an impact bat like RJ, not in personality), but one day I can see Loney batting .350-.360 with 220-225 hits. That boy can rake.
I expected Kershaw to maybe be in the rotation in 2009 but man, I think he’s in there this year if someone goes down, and at least by July. If the Ds can be at or a little above .500 heading into mid-July, he and getting LaRoche back for a stretch run in Aug-Sep are like picking up 2 studs for nothing.
Mr. Colletti,
Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer a few questions from fans.
Here’s one: When Dodger players are injured for part or all of a season, is the team obligated to pay the entire amount of that player’s salary? Or does the team have insurance that covers this kind of thing?
Ned, I understand your thinking about the younger players backing up the vets, but why not try it the other way around, have the seasoned vets back up the young players? This way with the younger guys starting you have a potential upside, and if they can’t get it done you still have the vet on the bench to take over. This is all based on the fact that the young player has shown that he can contribute.
Ned regarding my previous question, let me clarify. I’m not talking about vets in their prime ,but guys who we all know are declining. Once again thanks you’re a class act to do this.
Love the poetry enchanted!
Had a great time yesterday at Vero. I decided just to hang there for a while, go get some lunch back to my room and then head out to the Women’s baseball clinic. The kids and the coaches there were great teaching us how to pitch, answer questions from us, steal bases, field ground balls and turn double plays. Had a great time with other friends I have made here. The BBQ dinner was great except I squirted one of those bbq sauces on my brother’s Brad Penny jersey. Still trying to have it signed by Penny and then maybe he will forgive me. I tried as best I can to get the stains out with shampoo. I had my picture taken with Manny Mota and Maury Wills but I missed Tommy :-(. I asked Tommy if he remember me from back in L.A., he said “what do you think I am senile?”. lol.
thought I share this from one of friends that was here from St. Louis:
“”Hope you’re having a great time in Vero Beach. I certainly did, and was only there for one day. It is a true gem, and I see now why it is so special to Dodgers fans. So glad I came down there for the weekend.”
Josh, Jon Soo Hoo and all that are making the trip to China: have a safe trip! -Emma
fliegel – IMO I think Ned would have to embrace a whole different philosophy in order to make the switch, and I think there’s a big insecurity factor in it for him.
Oddly, it wasn’t a problem with the Martin/Navarro situation, but then again, he only had two rookies to begin with. Still, handling a pitching staff at Martin’s age and experience when he took over was a giant leap of faith and Ned made that leap, so its surprising it wasn’t/isn’t there as quickly for Loney, Kemp and Ethier.
When I can distance myself from the obvious, it does appear he’s making progress. Martin, Ethier, Brox and Billz and in ’06 – Loney in ’07, and probably Kemp and maybe LaRoche and Kershaw in ’08.
enchanted, I have hope for Ned. I think he learns from his mistakes and in a GM, that’s about the best you can ask for.
Except one fliegel. Except one…
Does anyone think that the Kuroda signing will turn out better than the Andruw?
Also, does anyone know if there’s a list of would be FAs for after the 2008 season?
enchanted, we all agree on that!
I don’t neccesarily agree with that, while Kuroda fills a big void in our rotation, Andruw automatically upgrades our team D, plus with his power and potential rebound offensively, he gives us a true HR hitter in our lineup.
Let’s see what kind of lineup Tommy puts out there. I think Kemp is in China though.
today’s lineup posted…
Here is the link to Kershaw’s curveball in case you haven’t seen it yet: http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2M0c6DxCMY
WARNING: It may buckle you from your desk!!!