A busy day at the ballpark
There’s a lot going on these days at Dodger Stadium, and that’s a great thing. With Juan Uribe flying to Los Angeles to take his physical, Ned Colletti and his staff obviously realized that once he passed, we would have an extra infielder (Ryan Theriot) and he had a deal in place to move Ryan to St. Louis in exchange for Blake Hawksworth.
News like this tends to have a lot of moving parts, with Uribe heading to the doctor for the physical, sorting through the media availability for various players, making sure that word of a trade doesn’t get out before the players hear it from their respective teams. So of course, with that, is a lot of internal planning.
But, we have a great front office and PR department, medical staff, etc. who helped today run seamlessly. We got word that Juan was official and let the media know that the deal was done and that he’d be available on a conference call. From there, Ned had to call Ryan and let him know that he had been traded to St. Louis. And then, Juan headed to the stadium for a quick visit with team officials, a tour of the clubhouse and the conference call before he grabs dinner and catches a very early morning flight back to the D.R.
He couldn’t have been a nicer guy and his wife was also very kind. He said that Manny Mota pretty much called him every day after the World Series telling him how much the Dodgers wanted to see him in Blue and he said that it was very meaningful to him that the team cared so much about him. Before they took off from the stadium, we armed them with all sorts of hats and Dodger items to bring back to the Dominican and we’re certainly looking forward to having him on the team in 2011.
For those who follow such things, Blake is on Twitter @blakehawksworth but he’s yet to weigh in via that account…still, I’m sure he’ll be picking up a lot of L.A. followers. And hopefully he’ll add a nice arm to the bullpen for 2011.
Ned seems to still be on the hunt for more pitching, a LF and, as he says, to sort through the catching situation. Stay tuned…we certainly hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.
Inside the Dodgers 
Giants To Sign Miguel Tejada…LOL…..Well at least we didn’t sign him…
Too bad its just a meaningless move that will surely lead to another season of mediocrity… We had our shot w/ Manny and the boys, but our inability (or unwillingness) to acquire TOP FLIGHT starting pitching was the thing that held us back (that and Matt Stairs sitting dead-red on a Broxton fastball). C’mon, Kershaw and Billingsly are good #2 and #3 guys, but they are not the quality of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, or even Tim Lincecum (who the Dodgers could have drafted instead of Kershaw – the Giants selected him 2 picks later). I would certainly have given up either Bills or Shaw to get Halladay or Lee!
Asked if he understood that Giants fans might be upset that he signed with the rival Dodgers, Uribe said, ?I can?t control that. I?m not the owner of a team. Things happen
Tru….I do think we got the better player…I mean Tejada is washed up…The only thing that bothers me about the Uribe deal is the yrs and money…Anyway welcome to the Dodgers Uribe and Blake Hawksworth
Dodgerzona ~ I just saw that about Tejada….I think we got the better player, don’t you?
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Welcome to L.A. Juan and Blake!
Jhall ~ I was having submission errors last night too….AFTER ONE POST!!!! So, I understand š
You all know my opinion of Martin BUT, I can’t help but feel that without the anchor around their neck that was Joe, the entire team will get a lift, including Martin. I wouldn’t tender him, but I would see if he’d take an incentive laden contract for one year, maybe even an option for a second if he met certain performance criteria. I’m willing to give Martin a chance in the event that it wasn’t P E Ds and was more J O E as to why his performance plummeted. If you look, he was fine until Joe arrived. As Nells pointed out to me last night, so was Loney. Kemp was progressing. Billz was progressing… all that stagnated or regressed when Torre arrived on the scene.
I’m already of the opinion that with Joe gone the team wins another 6-7 games just from saving themselves of his in-game mismanagement alone.
“A little bit of Blue, take that San Fran”
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Awesome D4!!!!
Oh yeah thanks enchanted I forgot you mention that name before. Look like another John Lindsey or Mitch Jones without a lot of power.
Wow!!! Another great song Dodger4life!!!!
Juan Uribe looks pretty good in Dodger Blue, and I am glad to see he is taking #5. He was #16 on that other team š
As for Theriot, I wish him well in St. Louis. He just happened to be on a team that was already on the downhill slide before he got here. I think it might have played out differently if the Dodgers were in “real” contention at the time. It will be interesting to see how Blake DeWitt fairs wherever he lands (if it is not with the Cubs). How his play could have been different (possibly for the better) with a different Dodger manager.
I am reading minds again š
Hello All!!! Sorry I cut out suddenly last night Trumom, but, after I post 4 or 5 times I get Submission Errored for the rest of the night. As for Theriot, Thank God and Greyhound, He’s Gone!!! I don’t want Pathednik back in left field either. Geez, you’d think we would have someone on the farm that could play Left Field. My God!!! If Martin isn’t traded by Thursday, I would non-tender him (which I believe we will). Sorry, but he s*cked before the injury. If he wants to come back, I would negotiate a minor league deal with incentives and work him out at 3rd base. Just some thoughts from the peanut gallery!!! LOL!!!!
Our current state of affairs really emphasizes the fact that player developement, the draft, and scouting should be very high on the list of priorities. It used to be one of the Dodger claims to fame and the reason for their success!!! More peanuts!!!
I see our TIME WARP is alive and well š
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz4eHPD40w4
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Ladies and Gentleman, this is Juan’sBro’s # 5
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Juan, two, three, four, five, everybody in the park, come on let’s glide
Cause Juan ain’t slappy, he hit a homer
Boy’s are gonna win and here’s the proof, mojo’s back, got good karma
No hangover like we had last year
Were gonna go deep, cause talk is cheap
We like Andre, Matty, the Beard and his peeps
As we continue Bills, Kersh are getting sweeter
So what do we do, we honor blue of course
Are Frank and Jamie still flirting with the courts
Oh sigh!! It’s all’s good, time to bump it
There is more to see than tea and crumpets
Chorus
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A little bit of Dodger Pride, in our life
A little bit of Wallach, saying slide
A little bit of Maury, on the bag
A little bit of Lopes, clocking our speed
A little bit of Sandy, on the gun
A little bit of O’Malley, in this run
A little bit of Fernando, olé and yeah
A little bit of Blue, take that San Fran
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Juan’sBro’s #5
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Jump up and down, high 5’s all around
Bump your fist to the sound, of I love L.A. In the background
Take one step left, one step right
One to the front and one to the side
Clap your hands once and clap your hands twice
And if you look like this then your doing it right
Chorus
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A little bit of Dodger Pride, in our life
A little bit of Wallach, saying slide
A little bit of Maury, on the bag
A little bit of Lopes, clocking our speed
A little bit of Sandy, on the gun
A little bit of O’Malley, in this run
A little bit of Fernando, olé and yeah
A little bit of Blue, take that San Fran
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Trumpet the trumpet
Juan’sBro’s #5 ha, ha, ha
Chorus
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A little bit of Dodger Pride, in our life
A little bit of Wallach, saying slide
A little bit of Maury, on the bag
A little bit of Lopes, clocking our speed
A little bit of Sandy, on the gun
A little bit of O’Malley, in this run
A little bit of Fernando, olé and yeah
A little bit of Blue, take that San Fran
Walk off
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We’re gonna do what it takes, to grab the ring in the Blue
We’re gonna run and we’re gonna fly
Think Blue Parade and Snoop Dog pimp’in the ride
JuansBro’s #5
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GO DODGERS GO!!!
WOO-HOO, Dodger4life…AWESOME!!!!
According to MLBTR…
“Before the Dodgers signed former Giant Juan Uribe, San Francisco offered the infielder a three-year deal worth $20MM, according to Schulman (on Twitter). That’s $1MM less than the Dodgers offered and $5MM less than Uribe was asking for.”
Uribe turned down a 20 millions deal to signed with us for 21 millions.
I’d rather have the Damon of 10 yrs ago or someone with a lot more pop, still I like the idea and think he’d be fun to have in blue.
NO DAMON PLEASE.
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Damon would make me long for the days of Juan Pierre.
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And you don’t want to make me long for the days of Juan Pierre.
I heard that rumor too knouffbrock. I think he would add some fun to the lineup for sure, but yea, the Damon of 10 yrs ago would have definitely added the pop we needed.
Good morning ITD boys and girls!
NOOOOOO DAMON NOOOOOOOO DAMON!!! We can DEFINITELY do better and especially we can get someone that plays better LF than him; he?s and atrocious fielder. Now, I know this isn?t the biggest FA outfielder, but I still wouldn?t mind seeing Brad Hawpe in a Dodger uniform. I know he?s had his own share of defensive issues, but he?s younger than Damon, would be less expensive, and it?d get him back in the NL West. The AL is not for him, and I would think he?d like to stick it to the Rox for letting him go last year?
And D4 ? Great song!!!
I’d still rather see Paul in LF. He won’t hurt you offensively or defesively and he still has upside. The moves Ned has made so far are good, but they’re still only to make the team competitive, not a winner. Past Crawford, there’s not much good on the market – let Paul have a chance at least until the trade deadline to see what he can do.
We would never want you to long for Juanpy, Enchanted š
CP – I totally agree!! I would love to see Brad Hawpe in Dodger Blue!!! He always gives us trouble so it would be good to have him on our side.
My Nellygirl!
I?ve ALWAYS loved Brad Hawpe and his playing style. Back when he started with the Rox, he was one of my Rockie favs ? Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins. Atkins has fallen off the table the last couple of years, and Holliday is, well, Holliday. But IMHO the Dodgers could do a lot worse than sign Brad Hawpe?
Andre š
http://www.nesn.com/2010/12/four-questions-with-andre-ethier.html
I agree CP!!! I just know that when he plays us, I always worry about him when he comes up to bat. He is alot like Andre and he tends to come through in clutch situations or at least has the ability to make things happen.
Yep, I agree. I think Ned needs to stop while he is slightly ahead for the time being. I would hate for him to make a really bad move and negate all the good things he has done so far. I can’t believe I am using “good” and “Ned” in the same sentence.
Let’s do the time warp again.
Ned needs to wait now until we see who all gets non-tendered by all the other teams. Could get a pretty good pick-up on the cheap somewhere.
Sorry Nelly, but I couldn?t post earlier; I kept on getting ?Redirect Errors? so I stopped. Redirect Errors are much like Submission Errors; won?t let me post a comment. Frustrating indeed.
But just to finish off my thought on Hawpe, he?s always hit well at Dodger Stadium. Now, I know you and others may be saying, ?Well, that?s against Dodger pitching.? That?s true, but I refer you to Vlad Guerrero. Last off season, he, of course, signed as a FA with Texas. At the time my husband said that Vlad loves to hit in Arlington and judging by his performance in 2010, he did extremely well (that?s putting it mildly). I think how well a player hits in a particular stadium isn?t always the opposing pitching staff; it may be the park itself. I?m hoping that Hawpe/Dodger Stadium could be another Vlad/Arlington Park situation!
Could it be that Ned’s was at it again?
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2010/12/dodgers-web-musings-mri-on-jon-garlands-shoulder-scared-teams-off.html
It does explain the contract bonuses tied to IP.
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Some men you jest kain’t reach…
That’s “Ned was” not “Ned’s was.”
Hello Gang!!! Got submission errored last night after 2 posts. Outstanding song D4L!!!! I enjoyed it alot.
I’d still rather see Paul in LF. He won’t hurt you offensively or defesively and he still has upside. The moves Ned has made so far are good, but they’re still only to make the team competitive, not a winner. Past Crawford, there’s not much good on the market – let Paul have a chance at least until the trade deadline to see what he can do.
By enchantedsunset on December 1, 2010 10:18 AM
I totally agree Beav!!!! I certainly hope MLB is working on fixing this blog!!!
You know we haven’t had any issues with the submissions for a long time, why? ……because until this last week or so we haven’t anything to talk about at length. Now that we do have something to actually talk about, the problem came back as well.
Same here Jhall! I even had a submission error this morning on my first post. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why or when it happens.
Let’s do the time warp again!!! It is just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right…….
I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for them to fix this blog. We’ve been asking for nearly two years now, with no luck.
Thanks Ya’ll…………
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I do want to see the boy’s do well this season.
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I was locked out right after the song
Hey Nelly and Trumom!!! Great to see you!!! You’re probably right Tru!!! LOL!!! Yep Nelly, not much to talk about until the last couple of weeks. After this last season, I was totally disgusted and dismayed and didn’t really have much to say. Just kind of licking our wounds. The outlook for 2011 was looking pretty bleak. Now, I am starting to get optimistic that we can contend again. Again, great to see you both and I will be reading you. However, if I don’t respond, it is not from lack of trying. Just can’t get a post thru!!!