4 shutouts in the past 5 days? Are you kidding me? Anybody else comfortable with that rotation? Let's see, it was Lowe going 8 scoreless against the Nats with Bullpen help in the 9th, followed by Kershaw and the bullpen the following day. Kuroda got lit up against the Giants, but we all know what he's capable of if he could only be a little more consistent. Yesterday was Jason Johnson and the pen, and today Billingsley took it himself. Now, before I get ahead of myself, lets remember those shutouts came against the Nationals and the Giants, and there are few Major league offenses sorrier than those. This next series against Arizona ought to be a test, but we will only see half of the Haren Webb tandem. At least it's sure we won't see that tandem in the playoffs, because it'll be us or them. This ought to be a good test of where we're going as of the beginning of August.
Just a small bit of info, we all know how long we're on the hook with Andruw (0-3 with a walk last night), and Pierre who didn't play but is under contract for 3 more years. Ethier is under team control through 2011 (if I understand correctly) and Kemp through 2012. Unless Kemp/Ethier develops into a 25+ homer a year guy, I doubt we'll keep all of those guys through their expiration dates. But here's hoping. Unless something better comes along.
2008年7月31日木曜日
2008年7月29日火曜日
Not .500
Isn't it interesting what you get with Kuroda, Billingsley and Lowe? Over the past month and a half or so they've pretty much been brilliant or terrible every time out. Cheers to the bullpen who gave us almost a chance on that one.
Not digging this Angel Berroa thing. Is Hu still our AAA SS? And then there's the Teixeira to Arizona rumors.
On the other hand Andruw and Sweeney got hits, I suppose it's just a matter of percentages, statistically they can't get out everytime. Well, again I think the case is different for Andruw. Andruw sucked because he was hurt and fat. He's now not hurt and fat, but hasn't had a real spring training. Add to that the fact that he's been booed (rightfully) all season and has tried to hard and developed bad habits by trying to do too much. He's still a talented player, but we happened to get him on his worst year ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Unless he tries to play hurt again next year.
Not digging this Angel Berroa thing. Is Hu still our AAA SS? And then there's the Teixeira to Arizona rumors.
On the other hand Andruw and Sweeney got hits, I suppose it's just a matter of percentages, statistically they can't get out everytime. Well, again I think the case is different for Andruw. Andruw sucked because he was hurt and fat. He's now not hurt and fat, but hasn't had a real spring training. Add to that the fact that he's been booed (rightfully) all season and has tried to hard and developed bad habits by trying to do too much. He's still a talented player, but we happened to get him on his worst year ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Unless he tries to play hurt again next year.
2008年7月28日月曜日
.500! But not fixed yet.
I must say, I'm proud of Ned. Ned works hard, he is squeezed by his bosses, he's had his heart broken time and again by free agents who turn out to be injured and he's still in there making deals. As a result the Dodgers made it back to .500.
The Diamondbacks meanwhile are starting to get more quality starts out of Randy Johnson. Match that with Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, and it doesn't really matter how many strikeouts their offense succumbs to, they're going to be hard to catch.
The Rockies, however, don't seem to mind, having outscored the Reds 23-3 in a sweep, rolling to 9-1 since the break.
So here we are, with all 3 NL West teams (sorry Padres and Giants, you just don't count this year anymore) on 3 game winning streaks. That's good, the division deserves more respectability than it has shown this year. But I'm worried. The Dodgers scored 11 runs in their 3 game sweep of the Nationals. True, we ran into a good pitcher the first day, even so, we left no reasonable room for error on our pitching staff, and that's what worries me. What happens when we play a team with pitching? But, what do you do? Sign Barry Bonds? Trade for Manny Ramirez? By the way I met Manny Ramirez once, but I'll save that story for a bit later. No, we're all in this together, and while the odds don't look good, well, they didn't look good in '88 either. Or '89, or '90...interpret that however you want. I really hope we beat the Giants this week.
The Diamondbacks meanwhile are starting to get more quality starts out of Randy Johnson. Match that with Dan Haren and Brandon Webb, and it doesn't really matter how many strikeouts their offense succumbs to, they're going to be hard to catch.
The Rockies, however, don't seem to mind, having outscored the Reds 23-3 in a sweep, rolling to 9-1 since the break.
So here we are, with all 3 NL West teams (sorry Padres and Giants, you just don't count this year anymore) on 3 game winning streaks. That's good, the division deserves more respectability than it has shown this year. But I'm worried. The Dodgers scored 11 runs in their 3 game sweep of the Nationals. True, we ran into a good pitcher the first day, even so, we left no reasonable room for error on our pitching staff, and that's what worries me. What happens when we play a team with pitching? But, what do you do? Sign Barry Bonds? Trade for Manny Ramirez? By the way I met Manny Ramirez once, but I'll save that story for a bit later. No, we're all in this together, and while the odds don't look good, well, they didn't look good in '88 either. Or '89, or '90...interpret that however you want. I really hope we beat the Giants this week.
2008年7月27日日曜日
The Andruw Jones Problem
You all know the problem better than I can explain it. We signed a guy who was coming off a bad year and got a time discount though not a price one. It seems like the guy probably lied about his knee being jacked up, which meant he came to camp way overweight and sucked for the first half of his first year on the $18million contract. I think that basically means he legally ripped us off for $9million while hurting our team for playing him under his sorry circumstances. It also appears that while his leg is better, he's still out of shape and not ready to play ball at the major level. I know, not rocket science, so why do they keep playing him?
I was reading Matt Kemp's chat manuscript in which I learned that Kemp is buddies with Delwyn Young, and also that Kemp thinks we should all go easy on Andruw because he works so very hard. I get that, if your Kemp you are in a fraternity of professional ballplayers, not to mention that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. You don't criticize your fellow players. Kemp pointed to Jones' work ethic, but here's the thing, none of us are stupid. We can see with our eyes that Jones is overweight. We all see the divots in the outfield grass when he dives for balls. And the worst part is, he's screwing us over worse than Jason Schmidt, because at least Schmidt is giving his roster spot to more capable players.
Then there's Joe Torre. I'm not here to pretend to tell him his job. I'm guessing that while Joe is less inclined to take orders from the top than he was at his last job, common sense says you don't call your direct boss an idiot by sitting his newest superstar, even if he can't hit .200. Torre doesn't think the Dodgers can reach their goals without Jones' presence in the lineup. I'll be honest with you, neither do I. But after that knee stunt we owe Jones nothing. So here's what we do. We send Jones to AAA until he drops the weight and learns how to hit, because we CAN get to the playoffs without him, though we probably can't win. Jones comes back like he was, we're good. Jones doesn't, we're better off than we are now. But I don't think we can afford to let him continue to work it out at the big league level. Man this was supposed to be a Juan Pierre post.
BTW, I'm against a trade for a relief pitcher. I liked the idea of getting Maddux, but would be careful about trading a prospect within the division. It would be nice to have the professor working with our kid pitchers again.
I was reading Matt Kemp's chat manuscript in which I learned that Kemp is buddies with Delwyn Young, and also that Kemp thinks we should all go easy on Andruw because he works so very hard. I get that, if your Kemp you are in a fraternity of professional ballplayers, not to mention that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. You don't criticize your fellow players. Kemp pointed to Jones' work ethic, but here's the thing, none of us are stupid. We can see with our eyes that Jones is overweight. We all see the divots in the outfield grass when he dives for balls. And the worst part is, he's screwing us over worse than Jason Schmidt, because at least Schmidt is giving his roster spot to more capable players.
Then there's Joe Torre. I'm not here to pretend to tell him his job. I'm guessing that while Joe is less inclined to take orders from the top than he was at his last job, common sense says you don't call your direct boss an idiot by sitting his newest superstar, even if he can't hit .200. Torre doesn't think the Dodgers can reach their goals without Jones' presence in the lineup. I'll be honest with you, neither do I. But after that knee stunt we owe Jones nothing. So here's what we do. We send Jones to AAA until he drops the weight and learns how to hit, because we CAN get to the playoffs without him, though we probably can't win. Jones comes back like he was, we're good. Jones doesn't, we're better off than we are now. But I don't think we can afford to let him continue to work it out at the big league level. Man this was supposed to be a Juan Pierre post.
BTW, I'm against a trade for a relief pitcher. I liked the idea of getting Maddux, but would be careful about trading a prospect within the division. It would be nice to have the professor working with our kid pitchers again.
Dodgers pick up Casey Blake, Don't sell the Farm
A good trade overall, though I'm sure you've all heard about it. We give up Meloan, who used to close, and will be sent back to the 'pen at the Indians AAA affiliate. We also gave Carlos Santana, an impressive A ball switch hitting catching slugger, but we have Russell Martin and Lucas May at AA, so we're good. And the Indians pay the rest of Blake's contract.
Seems like Frank, Logan, Ned, and Joe should all be happy about this one. I'm happy, we still have Jon McDonald and Blake DeWitt can still potentially play 2nd next year, although Casey Blake is a free agent in the offseason. We could offer Arb, but he could accept it and be a little overpaid, but with the probably departure of Jeff Kent we could use a guy like Blake around a little longer. More later.
Seems like Frank, Logan, Ned, and Joe should all be happy about this one. I'm happy, we still have Jon McDonald and Blake DeWitt can still potentially play 2nd next year, although Casey Blake is a free agent in the offseason. We could offer Arb, but he could accept it and be a little overpaid, but with the probably departure of Jeff Kent we could use a guy like Blake around a little longer. More later.
2008年7月26日土曜日
Clarifying the Dodgers Trade options
I think most of you are at least as frustrated as I am with this trading situation. Torre wants some additions, Frank, Logan, and Ned can't agree on anything, and the best news we've had all week is the return of Juan Pierre, who is a topic for another post. But from MLBTR, Tony Jackson and dodger dugout, as well as a few e-mails with Ken Gurnick himself, this is what I'm coming up with.
The Dodgers need a leftside of the infield bat.
Frank won't allow payroll to go up via trade.
Logan seems reluctant to trade off his dodgers.
Ned needs to get something done, but has said it's not about saving his job.
Joe expects help by the deadline.
The Diamondbacks already strengthened their weak bullpen, and are said to be the frontrunners in a possible Teixeira trade should the braves decide to be sellers, which hinges on the next two series. They are beating the Phillies in the 9th as I write this.
Blogs have mentioned the Dodgers are trying to acquire...
Hank Blalock - Shot down by Tony Jackson.
Christian Guzman - signed an extension with the Nats.
Adrian Beltre - MLBTR points to Beltre's blocking of a return to the dodgers, which he is contractually within his rights to do.
Orlando Cabrera for Derek Lowe. This makes sense for Frank McCourt, as both will be free agents at year's end, Lowe is being paid $10mil on the year Cabrera $9mil. Also, we don't give up any of Logan's guys, but this doesn't make sense to me as Lowe has been consistently good and Cabrera is hitting .265 in 100 games with the Sox. He'd be an improvement at short, and while we're deeper with starting pitchers, it's not a fair trade, just a desperate one.
Casey Blake - I can't seem to get a read on this one, except that we tried to get him with a Sabathia deal, but that was said to have been shot down by Frank for payroll reasons. I don't see why we couldn't have salary dumped Lowe after we acquired Sabathia, I'd imagine we could net a few prospects without eating salary since Lowe is bargain for anyone not playing their home games in Florida. Blake seems to be highly sought after, and thus we may have to slightly overpay.
Dallas McPherson - Marlins prospect, formerly an Angels prospect. He's mashing again...in AAA. Not really great hopes of him helping the club this year. And We've got two good young players at the hot corner anyway, although I personally think McPherson has more upside than either, if less consistency.
David Eckstein - Ugh, I've always hated this guy for crowhopping his throws from short. Lets just buy Juan Pierre an infielder's glove.
Jack Wilson - They all said the Bucs are asking way too much for any of their guys, but they just gave up Nady AND Marte for a couple of Yankees minor leaguers with only one centerpiece guy, and he not being Kennedy/Hughes. With that being the case, Wilson might be more affordable than previously thought, even if he isn't more talented than previously thought.
Edgar Renteria - I get it. I get that Angel Berroa isn't going to hit .235 this year for the Dodgers, so these kinds of guys who have been mentioned will be an upgrade. But seriously, can't we just ride Nomar till the wheels fall off and keep our prospects for a real trade?
I think we all agree that the current roster is a longshot at doing anything in September, but with the stalemate in the front office we don't have a lot of options other than speculating and watching the wires.
Somewhat unrelated, my hope is that Blake DeWitt sticks around as a 2nd baseman next year (his old position), as he plays the game the right way, I'm fairly confident his numbers will come around, and that would leave 3rd base to someone with more power. At any rate, it should be an intersting week. Here's hoping we keep James McDonald!
The Dodgers need a leftside of the infield bat.
Frank won't allow payroll to go up via trade.
Logan seems reluctant to trade off his dodgers.
Ned needs to get something done, but has said it's not about saving his job.
Joe expects help by the deadline.
The Diamondbacks already strengthened their weak bullpen, and are said to be the frontrunners in a possible Teixeira trade should the braves decide to be sellers, which hinges on the next two series. They are beating the Phillies in the 9th as I write this.
Blogs have mentioned the Dodgers are trying to acquire...
Hank Blalock - Shot down by Tony Jackson.
Christian Guzman - signed an extension with the Nats.
Adrian Beltre - MLBTR points to Beltre's blocking of a return to the dodgers, which he is contractually within his rights to do.
Orlando Cabrera for Derek Lowe. This makes sense for Frank McCourt, as both will be free agents at year's end, Lowe is being paid $10mil on the year Cabrera $9mil. Also, we don't give up any of Logan's guys, but this doesn't make sense to me as Lowe has been consistently good and Cabrera is hitting .265 in 100 games with the Sox. He'd be an improvement at short, and while we're deeper with starting pitchers, it's not a fair trade, just a desperate one.
Casey Blake - I can't seem to get a read on this one, except that we tried to get him with a Sabathia deal, but that was said to have been shot down by Frank for payroll reasons. I don't see why we couldn't have salary dumped Lowe after we acquired Sabathia, I'd imagine we could net a few prospects without eating salary since Lowe is bargain for anyone not playing their home games in Florida. Blake seems to be highly sought after, and thus we may have to slightly overpay.
Dallas McPherson - Marlins prospect, formerly an Angels prospect. He's mashing again...in AAA. Not really great hopes of him helping the club this year. And We've got two good young players at the hot corner anyway, although I personally think McPherson has more upside than either, if less consistency.
David Eckstein - Ugh, I've always hated this guy for crowhopping his throws from short. Lets just buy Juan Pierre an infielder's glove.
Jack Wilson - They all said the Bucs are asking way too much for any of their guys, but they just gave up Nady AND Marte for a couple of Yankees minor leaguers with only one centerpiece guy, and he not being Kennedy/Hughes. With that being the case, Wilson might be more affordable than previously thought, even if he isn't more talented than previously thought.
Edgar Renteria - I get it. I get that Angel Berroa isn't going to hit .235 this year for the Dodgers, so these kinds of guys who have been mentioned will be an upgrade. But seriously, can't we just ride Nomar till the wheels fall off and keep our prospects for a real trade?
I think we all agree that the current roster is a longshot at doing anything in September, but with the stalemate in the front office we don't have a lot of options other than speculating and watching the wires.
Somewhat unrelated, my hope is that Blake DeWitt sticks around as a 2nd baseman next year (his old position), as he plays the game the right way, I'm fairly confident his numbers will come around, and that would leave 3rd base to someone with more power. At any rate, it should be an intersting week. Here's hoping we keep James McDonald!
The Beginning
This is the beginning.
Otaku - Japanese for a person who does not know limits, an otaku is not a fan, an otaku is a maniac. While the word is most commonly attached with anime/manga/gamer types, it can be used for anything, trains, chinese characters, or in my case, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not quite sure how I'm gonna get any sort of readership on this, but I'm tired of feeling like I have something to say and not being able to fit in in the comment boxes on the Dodger sites I like to visit. Plus I'm tired of avoiding getting a blogger account because all the helps show up in Japanese due to my living in Tokyo.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Jon. I am a Dodger Otaku. I visit mlbtraderumors.com, espn.com, mlb.com, and dodgers.com multiple times daily. I also regularly visit my favorite blogs the East Windup Chronicle, Sons of Steve Garvey, Dodger Dugout, Diamond Leung, and Tony Jackson of the Daily News. I've listened to Dodger games on the radio since I was a little kid (26 now), and still catch the gameday audio since Mlb.tv is regularly blacked out here in Japan (troy from West Virginia I feel your pain.) I voted for the Joe Beimel bobblehead a few months back, as well as the Rickrolling of the Mets (Rick Astley being another young childhood memory, mind you not as high on the list as Vin Scully and Orel Hershiser, or even Tom Candiotti). And I will make short paragraphs, even if I haven't completed a previous thought.
I have lived in Tokyo for the past year, have become an official fan club member of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, since I couldn't stomach the other local team, the Yomiuri Giants, and you can guess why (I also couldn't bring myself to cheer on the other local team the Seibu Lions, since they play in the equivalent of the American League, DH and all). The Swallows, by the way boast well known former Dodgers such as Adam Riggs, Wilson Valdez, Masao Kida, and until this season Kaz Ishii.
I have my opinions on where the Dodgers have been, are, are going, and should be going. I have opinions on the front office, on the field, the importance of certain statistics and leadership roles, etc., and how good Juan Pierre is. I debated in High School, which makes me surprisingly open to seeing the other side of an argument, assuming it's a logical one and I'm not pissed off about yesterday's sumo outcomes or seeing Frank McCourt on the frontpage of Dodgers.com, again (better owner than Fox Sports, but why do we have to see him so much?).
But enough about me, lets talk about the Dodgers! We're a game out of first place, but 3 games under .500, and I doubt 81 wins will be enough to get in the playoffs this year. And man, I really hope I can navigate all these Japanese instructions well enough to add things like pictures and such. Go blue!
Otaku - Japanese for a person who does not know limits, an otaku is not a fan, an otaku is a maniac. While the word is most commonly attached with anime/manga/gamer types, it can be used for anything, trains, chinese characters, or in my case, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not quite sure how I'm gonna get any sort of readership on this, but I'm tired of feeling like I have something to say and not being able to fit in in the comment boxes on the Dodger sites I like to visit. Plus I'm tired of avoiding getting a blogger account because all the helps show up in Japanese due to my living in Tokyo.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Jon. I am a Dodger Otaku. I visit mlbtraderumors.com, espn.com, mlb.com, and dodgers.com multiple times daily. I also regularly visit my favorite blogs the East Windup Chronicle, Sons of Steve Garvey, Dodger Dugout, Diamond Leung, and Tony Jackson of the Daily News. I've listened to Dodger games on the radio since I was a little kid (26 now), and still catch the gameday audio since Mlb.tv is regularly blacked out here in Japan (troy from West Virginia I feel your pain.) I voted for the Joe Beimel bobblehead a few months back, as well as the Rickrolling of the Mets (Rick Astley being another young childhood memory, mind you not as high on the list as Vin Scully and Orel Hershiser, or even Tom Candiotti). And I will make short paragraphs, even if I haven't completed a previous thought.
I have lived in Tokyo for the past year, have become an official fan club member of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, since I couldn't stomach the other local team, the Yomiuri Giants, and you can guess why (I also couldn't bring myself to cheer on the other local team the Seibu Lions, since they play in the equivalent of the American League, DH and all). The Swallows, by the way boast well known former Dodgers such as Adam Riggs, Wilson Valdez, Masao Kida, and until this season Kaz Ishii.
I have my opinions on where the Dodgers have been, are, are going, and should be going. I have opinions on the front office, on the field, the importance of certain statistics and leadership roles, etc., and how good Juan Pierre is. I debated in High School, which makes me surprisingly open to seeing the other side of an argument, assuming it's a logical one and I'm not pissed off about yesterday's sumo outcomes or seeing Frank McCourt on the frontpage of Dodgers.com, again (better owner than Fox Sports, but why do we have to see him so much?).
But enough about me, lets talk about the Dodgers! We're a game out of first place, but 3 games under .500, and I doubt 81 wins will be enough to get in the playoffs this year. And man, I really hope I can navigate all these Japanese instructions well enough to add things like pictures and such. Go blue!
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