it’s baseball time! Can’t wait to get the 2008 season kicked off. I think the Dodgers made moves to put them in a position to be competitive in the NL. The west is by far the toughest division in baseball though. Hopefully the breaks go the Dodgers way and they can take the pennant.
In news that’s usually always positive at this time in camp, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt has detected a mechanical flaw in Esteban Loiaza’s motion. Which means he’s been sucking in camp. Hopefully this makes him not suck, but I doubt it. Jason Schmidt seems to be recovering nicely, but I will wait until they put the speed gun on him for my own judgement. Sounds like Pierre will be the left fielder, so instead of guys going 1st to 3rd on him they will be going 2nd to home. He blows. Hopefully Torre has the gonads to stand up to management and say they made a mistake and put Either out there before to late in the season. There are few reports out on Andruw Jones reporting being fat. Hopefully it comes off before the season. On another note; it sounds like Mike Easler is doing a fine job as the new hitting coach, I just wish things had worked out with Donnie Baseball!
Well, everybody is 0-0 and we have as good a chance as any in the west!
Great pickup for the Dodgers. Didn’t have to give up anyone got a veteran 4th guy in the rotation. He was throwing at about 91 in the game footage below. It’s an all-star game, you’d think he’d be letting it all out, which worries me. He doesn’t have the deceptive delivery that most imports have. He may have to work on hiding the ball on his delivery, it’s kinda just out there for all to see what’s coming.
There are whispers that Hiroki Kuroda has chosen the Dodgers. According to Tony Jackson of the Daily News he’s on a flight to LA this morning and may be coming to put his pen to paper. This would be huge for the Dodgers. You would know have one of the best staffs in the NL with Lowe, Penny, Billingsley, Kuroda & Schmidt/Loiaza. If someone flames out you have the best minor league left hander in the business to bring up later in the season in Clayton Kershaw. This is a major move…Now the Dodgers can move Andre Eithier for a 3rd baseman or better yet move Juan Pierre for Joe Crede (reported in a chicago area paper yesterday). This move should help on another front…Get off of Frank McCourt’s back. The man spends money and is trying to bring a winning franchise to the Dodgers. Yes he switches people around too much, but it’s all in an effort to make the Dodgers better. To this point Ned Colletti has been checking his needs list and marking them off…Hopefully there’s a Crede for Pierre trade for Christmas!
In the wee hours of the night Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was finally getting the big bat he wanted. The Dodgers inked Andruw Jones to a 2 year $36 million deal. This is a win-win deal for Jones and the Dodgers. Andruw gets to raise his value (while getting paid well) for another run at free agency in 2 years, while the Dodgers get a gold glove center fielder and some thump in their lineup. The move will allow the Dodgers to hide Juan Pierre in left field, but at this point what good is he? With a surplus of outfielders the Dodgers will most likely move Andre Eithier for a 3rd baseman, I don’t believe there is a 3rd baseman out there that’s better then Matt Kemp. I would much rather have an outfield of Either, Jones, Kemp and ship Pierre out. Pay part of his contract whatever you have to do, you are better with Either over Pierre.
So the Dodgers patched up one of their holes and by doing so giving themselves a chip to fill the 3rd base hole. Ideally the Dodgers trade for Joe Crede (Eithier) and sign starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Otherwise Andy LaRoache and Kuroda would be fine. Overall I’m very happy the Dodgers added Andruw, hopefully more additions are on the way…
UPDATE: I found it very funny how much bashing Juan Pierre is taking in the Jones siging articles:
FoxSports:
“Light-hitting Juan Pierre, who had been in center field, could switch to left - potentially reducing playing time for Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier.”
LATimes:
“The Dodgers are expected to move weak-armed Juan Pierre to left field, leaving Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for right.”
Reports are out today that the Dodgers are looking for improvement from within as their main way of winning the NL in ’08. You have got to be kidding me. You are the freaking Dodgers, you don’t wait around hoping some young kid is good. You get proven talent. The city supports the Dodgers like no other franchise, drawing the 2nd most fans in the Majors to the stadium in ‘07. Only the Yankees were more attended. So there is money, something else must be amiss. Ahh yeah, the 06-07 off-season. The one that GM Ned Colletti spent wildly, sometimes it seemed spending just to spend. The final bill for that fiasco was roughly $125 million, and you’d be safe to say that the Dodgers would like nothing better then to not have any of those players (Schmidt, Pierre, Garciaparra, Gonzalez) on the books or roster in ‘ 08. So Ned has gotten cold feet, who would blame him? He struckout…got no-hit. One thing I know is that if Colletti stays pat it will be his last season as a Dodger. So swing away Ned! The fans opened their pocketbooks for their beloved Dodgers in ‘07 and this year the McCourts and Colletti are stuffing it away. An improved stadium and a new Manager will not put bottoms in the seats or bucks in your wallet, winning will. Go win.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wrote a column today that summed up my thoughts exactly. What are the Dodgers waiting on? While the other “LA” team keeps trying to get better by gobbling up players and filling needs, the Dodgers add a Non-Player. Hopefully the Dodgers aren’t banking on Joe Torre turning the team around. I understand not trading for Cabrera at that asking price, but go upgrade CF and Pitching. Winter Meetings start next Monday 12/3 maybe Ned will get busy there.