The Dodgers haven’t signed anyone! They’ve lost Greinke! They’re going to lose 100 games!
Nah, says Fox Sports guy Ken Rosenthal. There are still several good mid-rotation starters looking for work. There are also lots of trades which could be made.
Panic not! Scott Kazmir is available, as are Wei-Yin Chen, Mike Leake and Yovani Gallardo. Also, they still have Ryu and they’ll get McCarthy back mid-season (as good as a trade without giving anything up!).
I don’t doubt the team will fill holes. Obviously it won’t fill them the same way we expected them to, and if the front office is honest, probably not the way they expected to either, but they’ll field a top-notch team ready to compete for the playoffs again.
In the true spirit of the season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5IXlfJSEi4
And this:
Proudly wearing my green-and-gold “Atheist” t-shirt this morning.
I think you’ve depleted your “Shock Value” account here. It wouldn’t surprise us if you came out wearing your SS Uniform. No matter, we’ve accepted you as you are… you’re Package’s best buddy.
The SS and their bosses were Xians. I do not share their delusions.
Could have fooled me!
Hitler as a child was an Catholic altar boy. He claimed Christianity and other things when he thought doing so advanced his political goals, but paid only lip service. Agree with Christianity or not, there is evidence of living by its precepts in a sincere believer’s life. There was none in Hitler’s.
Evidence of Hitler’s life indicates his claim to be Christian had about as much validity as his beliefs about Jews, gypsies, gays, etc.
Which suggests he’s not very different from his contemporaries who make similar claims.
If you are referring to politicians and other “world leaders”, I am inclined to agree with that statement.
It’s the most vocally self-proclaimed Xians.
An odd and probably inappropriate discussion for this day in particular. Regardless of my or anyone else’s beliefs, I’m sorry I responded, I should have allowed the original post to die a well deserved lonely death.
Twas the Night Before Christmas by Frank Caliendo in the voices of ESPN broadcasters.
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever floats your boat, everybody.
http://dodgersdigest.com/2015/12/24/key-to-dodgers-offense-lies-in-grandal-pederson-and-puig/
Yep, if those three are hitting, Puig, Grandal and Joc, this could be a formidable line up in the NL Shades of the April to mid-June 2015 Dodgers.
Like WBBsAs, I don’t really like Christmas much, but for those of you who do, I hope you all have Happy Holidays, except for WBBsAs who requires unhappy Holidays to make him happy. Or something like that.. Would you call that Xmas Phobia?
We need to to put the “X” back in Xmas.
It’s time for MLB to catch up with the NBA: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/sports/basketball/nba-gun-violence-campaign-michael-bloomberg.html?_r=0
He was replaced in 1976 with a young Rick Rhoden and Tommy John, who was returning from, well,Tommy John surgery, as the Dodgers went to a five-man rotation under Lasorda. They finished second again, but in 1977-78 went to, and lost, the WS. Andy actually returned to pitch for the Dodgers in 1979.
The Second Amendment is the most important tool we have to protect us from a possibly oppressive government. Strict enforcement of the laws by honest police and judges are all we need but unfortunately don’t always have.
I don’t want this to degenerate into a gun-rights debate, but I will point out that the US government has bombers, missiles and tanks. No matter how many guns the citizenry has, the quality of the government’s weapons makes it unlikely that the populace would prevail in any armed insurrection.
You are so right.
It’s the most important tool we have to condone mass murder.
MLB is running way behind NBA and NFL in criminal membership.
How ’bout that José Reyes?
For Package’s satisfaction, here’s an instance when the Dodgers were genuinely unwilling to spend money for an impact player: http://www.truebluela.com/2015/12/23/7526915/andy-messersmith-arbitration-decision-free-agency-dodgers-1975
He was replaced in 1976 with a young Rick Rhoden and Tommy John, who was returning from, well,Tommy John surgery, as the Dodgers went to a five-man rotation under Lasorda. They finished second again, but in 1977-78 went to, and lost, the WS.
Ted Turner helped set the tone by giving him a million bucks for three seasons, up from Andy’s previous salary of $90k. Pitched well in 1976, but was down hill from there. He actually returned to the Dodgers in 1979, but was DFAed in August.
McNally retired without taking advantage of his (presumed) better bargaining position, but Messersmith took the opportunity and ran with it.
The first FA was actually Catfish, whose 1974 two-year $200k contract was voided because of Finely payment shenanigans. He signed with the Yanks for $640k annually over 5 years.
The next great Cuban baseball player, a Cuban Bryce Harper, they say… http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/12/22/lazaro-armenteros-cuba-baseball/77750654/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-lcrstWZfnA_GuSwvkgA0SA
I was not in favor of resigning Kendrick but I’d much rather give him a contract than see Utley hobble around out there, which is where we are now. Kendrick won’t cost us a draft pick but of course we won’t get one for him signing with another team. The other teams aren’t beating his doors down so maybe we could get him on a 3 year deal at a price we could flip him in the third year. Now if only FO would listen to me…
I don’t want him. I like Utley as the left side platoon with Hernandez apparently.
The Dodgers will get a draft pick if Kendrick signs with another team, unless nobody signs him well into the season.
A fellow that puts up a dWAR of 0.7 in 34 games is not hobbling around out there.
Billingsley is still available, just saying.
I always liked Chad when he was healthy.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/12/22/lazaro-armenteros-cuba-baseball/77750654/
One more for the future
Ok, so here is my unsolicited commentary for the holiday season. People have gotten quite rude here lately, and it’s taking some of the fun out of posting and reading other posts here. So….
Let’s all take a couple of days’ break and come back refreshed. Let’s try to be more open-minded toward others’ opinions, no matter how wrong or uninformed they may be, in your opinion. Let’s come back here after the holiday, and all try to remember this is supposed to be fun, a release. After all, it’s just baseball. It’s our passion, and we take it seriously, but we are just spectators with nothing at stake here other than bragging rights over all those jerks who support other teams.
I second this emotion.
Fine. You guys take long breaks anyway, some of us post here almost daily. Do you mind if we continue posting instead of taking a break?
I was not referring to frequency of posts, I was referring to “tone”.
Jeez, how’s that for tone?
Bob, have a great holiday season.
Same to you Howard. Enjoy your posts.
Jerry Sands lives, as a White Sox.
Sands is becoming the ultimate journeyman (though I suspect Package considers him a prospect).
Warm wishes for a safe, healthy, joyous holiday time to my Dodger blog buddies.e, I’m wading through the mother of all colds, but fifteen stockings on the mantel, and all four kids here with four grandkids to open them Friday morning, so no complaints.
That random e should read Me, .
Q&A with President Stan Kasten on the state of the Dodgers.
Try to remember that Kasten is the organization front man. What he says is what ownership wants you to believe. Far more telling to read the comments after his Infomercial…
Why do some of you guys get so abusive toward Package for stating his opinion? So you don’t agree with it. Just ignore it. He has a right to state it and you only encourage his combative instincts by attacking him. Having tried to correct him (ignoring the point as to whether or not we have that right), the smart thing to do is to ignore him. As has been pointed out before, he is his own worst enemy, dwelling on his unhappiness only makes it worse. At least he comes in every day and participates, which is more than can be said for many of our brethren. You especially, Link, should be glad for all the comments he makes…
I hope I’m not abusive toward him. I guess I’ve got that xkcd cartoon stuck in my head.
Good cartoon. Whenever I disagree with anyone, I tend to remind myself that I don’t know everything. He could be right.
He could be right about what? Ignoring him would be as much as an insult. I try to engage in discussion because it sharpens my own thinking to be exposed to contrary views. Sometimes those discussions degenerate for sure.
You tell him how you think it is. He doesn’t change his mind one iota. You tell him he’s wrong. He doesn’t change his mind. Neither do you. That’s discussion????
It’s the process. I enjoy his retorts. I am not here to educate Package, but to better inform myself.
Trying to educate Package may be a lost cause, but we have to hope.
Ignoring him would be as much as an insult? What about that old saying about if you can’t say something nice about a person, don’t say anything at all?
These are the extremes. I can only speak for myself and I believe that our exchanges fall between the two and don’t involve personal insults, in the main.
Sorry, I shouldn’t stick my nose in. As has been said before, I think he enjoys it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s hard to resist when he sets himself up for it.
Your response is conditioned into you from long ago, you can no more help yourself than he can…
package and anyone else who’s panicking or appalled should be reminded of the Serenity Prayer:
I’d rephrase it for this specific occasion:
The F.O. isn’t going to listen to us caterwauling on this blog, and they certainly all have much more experience evaluating talent and managing baseball teams than we do, so our advice to them is something less than useful. All of us should recognize that. They’re going to do what they think their mandate from ownership tells them to do; right now that appears to be “field a championship-caliber team while rebuilding the farm system.”
Expecting wisdom from Package is utterly unrealistic.
And I might add: even if they don’t have more experience evaluating talent and managing baseball teams, it’s their team and their money…
In Package’s case, the following might be a more appropriate version of the prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFLvhKv-Lbo
Even more inspiration for Package. It could be a 3-Rolaids day for him.
“Looking ahead to 2016, the Dodgers are in an excellent position to win the NL West title for the fourth year in a row. At this point in time, FanGraphs depth charts have the Dodgers at 47.6 WAR, which roughly equates to a 95-win team. This total is the second-best in all of baseball behind only the Cubs (51.8 WAR), and it puts them eight games in front of the Giants and 16 games in front of the Diamondbacks.”
If that weren’t enough, there’s also praise for Joc and Grandal and for moving Kemp. Make that 5 Rolaids, STAT!
And this: “Andrew Friedman has made the Dodgers an even scarier team long-term because he understands how to value young talent.” Better make that a couple whole rolls of Rolaids… ; -])
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/12/22/10634666/andrew-friedman-dodgers-trades-long-term-the-juggernaut?_ga=1.218510362.2014194878.1389713399
“The Dodgers have a core of elite position players in Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, and Yasiel Puig…” Better make that gastric bypass surgery.
“Before anyone jumps in, no, this is not a front-office fluff piece. This is reality. I’d be shocked if the Dodgers’ payroll ever touched $300 million again…”
http://dodgersdigest.com/2015/12/22/so-you-want-the-dodgers-to-spend-money/
Or at least his version of it.
Being the eternal optimist that I am, I think if we sit tight, we are ok. Let’s see how our youngsters develop. I would not trade our top arms for one player, even one supposedly as good as Fernandez. He has had TJ surgery once, he’ll likely have problems again. Why give away our entire future for that? I’ll take my chances that at least one of all of our young arms can be as good, or nearly as good, as him.
Yes the Dbacks picked up Greinke and Miller. But while Miller may be good, I personally don’t think he is a game changer. And they have 2 big hitters, at least they were big last year. For the Dbacks to win, even with Greinke, their hitters need to have career years again.
The Giants, if healthy, made the best moves, now they have a deeper starting rotation. But their hitters are injury prone, and the offense is also iffy.
If all teams are healthy all year, I still take the Dodgers. Especially considering the help coming through our own pipeline as the year progresses.
Yeah, I think they giants still need to upgrade their offense, perhaps with Cespedes or Gordon, to be competitive.
Not sure that we have a guy currently in the system knocking on the door to take CC’s slot, with Schebler gone. Still appears to be an average player at bat, though costly. Don’t think I would DFA him at this point, as he can spell Dre and provides a left handed bat off the bench.
The Gnats gnow have a possible No. 1 starter – something they’ve lacked until now – but the rest of their rotation is a big question mark.
Now have a #1? What were you calling Bumgarner, sliced liver?
um…..chopped liver….
Okay, but what if you sliced it and marinated it in teriyaki sauce?
Funny, but that just wouldn’t be the same at the holidays
Well, not being a liver fancier anyway…
It’s an acquired taste
Once I told my kids, “What am I, sliced bread?”
You are the best thing since sliced bread.
Silver-tongued devil…
Happy Holidays, RBI!
I call him an apologist for the Confederacy. He’s a very good pitcher who’s enjoyed an excellent post-season run, but he’s less than elite. On last year’s Dodgers he would have no better than the No. 3 starter.
Did you mean to say, “would have BEEN no better…”?
My omission, now corrected.
I’ve seen enough of TBLA and its comments over the years to know that a couple commenters there have some access to really good info, maybe even insider stuff. Lately one has posted a couple things, including the following. NOT saying take it to the bank but there has been more than a little truth to some things he has said. So, FWIW…
“I know we have all been waiting for a big trade to happen, however, from what I have gathered the Dodgers are more focused instead on adding to their already impressive collection of young arms. As we already know they have refused to trade several of their pitching prospects for one established MLB pitcher. The Dodgers feel that since most of their young pitchers are on the cusp of making the ML roster, they should first find out which prospects will be part of their core, and then decide which players they can trade from their surplus. The Dodgers feel that their limitless monetary resources could be better utilized if they use it to fill weakness instead of going after top free agents that will block prospects.
“I know this sounds a lot like a rebuild phase, which in a sense it is, but the Dodgers will not be doing it while “tanking” seasons. They still will be competitive and in the process they will be fortifying their young core players. They were hard pressed in not overpaying for pitchers during last years trading deadline or for free agents this offseason because they feel this will not lead to an efficient winning environment. I know this is not what fans want to hear, but if their specs develop like they should and with their abundant of resources they could be in contention for many years to come. TRUST THE PROCESS.”
They were fairly explicit when they came in that this would be their approach and I, for one, agree with it. It calls for discipline in making it happen. So far I mostly agree with the decisions that they have made and the arms foregone. There are certainly risks involved as regards remaining competitive and bridging to the young arms, and difficult for fans when they see the competition so freely spending, even when these deals seem crazy. I attribute this to the notion that the giants and Snakes feel that they have s short window of time. The Cubs have gone this route of reloading under Epstein but had the luxury of lower expectations by their fans in the transition.
And the Cubs are still, well, the Cubs. If Lester doesn’t return to form, and if Arrietta doesn’t have another career year, they have a big problem with their rotation.
Yes, young arms they don’t appear to have (don’t follow them close enough to know). Lackey is just the sort of two-year bridge that the Dodgers could use,
I wonder if Lee might benefit more than any other pitcher in the Dodger organization from Maddux’ tutoring. Lee doesn’t have an out pitch and therefore needs to pitch smarter than those that do.
Picked up a couple days back, from Peter Gammons:
One gets the impression they (Dodgers) will not break the bank for Japanese righthander Kenta Maeda because of durability (155 pounds and having to go from 6 to 4 days rest) and the adjustment to larger baseballs, given his small hands.
Sounds like worthy reasons to me if true.
How about for Christmas we take up a collection to buy Package and WBBsAs a set of Pugil Sticks and a motel room?
https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/679328388121796610
Great news for Cubbies fans.
Scratch one more possibility, very few options left open unless we want to give up the farm…
https://twitter.com/LangoschMLB/status/679320206074843136
I’d rather the Gnats kept Leake.
Five days old but only up-beat posting I find… https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/677524674645852160
Five most likely teams to sign Cespedes. Dodgers not on list. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/160087068/yoenis-cespedes-5-most-likely-landing-spots
Don’t see a fit, unless they deal Puig (and move Dre and SVS to right field platoon). Package is right in that FO unlikely to give a six year contract to a 30 year old.
Fit be damned, we need more offense. I’m open to dealing Puig, Dre and SVS too for that matter.
Don’t forget CC!
I will give him away.
Remember, the Cardinals won a World Series with a rookie starting pitcher, as did the Dodgers.
From MLBTR: There’s already buzz about what could be a brilliant 2018-19 free agent class, John Harper of the New York Daily News writes. That year’s market could include Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Andrew McCutchen, Dallas Keuchel, Jose Fernandez, Matt Harvey and Manny Machado. Also, Clayton Kershaw,David Price and Jason Heyward will have opt-out clauses. Of course, some of that first group of players could sign extensions, and there’s no telling if they’ll be as valuable then as they are now, but that looks like a stunning amount of talent. Harper notes that many of the Yankees’ bigger contracts will have expired by then, and he quotes an executive suggesting the Yanks could potentially use the intervening years to get under the luxury tax threshold and throw their weight around in 2018-19.
http://rayscoloredglasses.com/2015/12/17/rays-rumors-odorizzi-to-dodgers-for/
Interesting possibilities but I can’t get excited till it happens or at least gets close.
Fellow still thinks we have Schebler.
Dodger Notes: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/dodgers-finalists-johnny-cueto-giants.html
After the “continue reading” break in this is mention Greg Maddux may become a part-time Dodger pitching coach. Great move if so. If his pitching brain could be morphed into Dodger pitchers, they’d better immediately.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/12/18/bringing-risk-managament-big-leagues/KQJQ410bcfAcz8raPWXuxM/story.html
IMHO – Roster a complete mess at this point…
Can they clean it up ??? – Only time will tell….
…..
My call. (PS – Called it that they wouldn’t sign Grienke… unfortunately….)
1. Puig – Would not ever suit up in Dodger Blue again if I were GM. They’ve blundered so badly
by letting his stock drop. If anybody knew the holes in this guys’s game, it was the
Dodgers………and, they hung on to him way too long…. waste.)
2. Joc – I think, given proper instruction….. He’ll find his swing again. Outstanding defense. Keep for now….
3. Pitching staff ???? Please…. Another year of.. .Dogers acquire ___________ Who????
….
Biggest Bummer ? – Vinny’s last season will be announcing for a plus/minus 500 club. 🙁
….
Need Proof ???? – Anybody who trades Dee Gordon is an idiot. Lead MLB in hits. Gold Glove.
Talk about selling a stock right before it went up….. I don’t care if they just wanted Haren off the books. Obviously poor talent evaluators… Stupid. PS – Merry Christmas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Hey… just because The Googs Group game Friedman and Farhan a lot of money doesn’t make them good…………… Think about it.
….
Every year, multi-million dollar execs are jettisoned in favor of other multi-million dollar execs…. with the next one promising … “A new day …. for _____ insert franchise…”
I’m skeptical…………
When exactly would you have gotten rid of Puig? Puts up an OPS+ of 151 over his first two seasons (i can live with those sorts of holes), before a down and injury-plagued 2015 gives him a 109. On the Dee trade (note that Haren was not taken off the books, we paid his salary, the same as if we had DFAed him), they did find a trading partner who valued them and we got a haul in return (note that Quique put up OPS+ 130 to Dee’s 114). Not sure that the roster is a mess and in any event we have two months until ST.
Hey Bob…. I hope you’ve had a great Holiday Season with your family…
I would have traded Puig right when his lustre began to wear off and we began to hear stories of his friction with teammates…. Right before he was named the cover boy for the MLB PS4 video game. To me… Yasiel Puig………
1. Is still a kid… .but, a head-case who has now looked stupid in the last 2 post-seasons…
2. Will chronically have pulled hamstrings, and other “lack of flexibility”-type injuries which are “atypical” for players his age…. I think GHormone/juicing.
3. Has no clue where the strike zone is…. and, looks like he’s trying to hit a ping pong ball in clutch situations… (unless it’s a Tuesday evening game in May against a bad team in front of a 2/3 full Dodger Stadium crowd… That’s when he padded his STATS…. to me, anyways.)
4. Absolutely CANNOT READ RELEASE POINT … and give himself half a chance vs. quality pitching. 100% At the mercy of the Pitcher….
Sure, he’ll make a number of absolutely phenomenal plays out in RF throughout the season… but, not my kind of player…
The problem is……….. Now EVERYBODY in the game knows all of this about Mr. Puig………….. And have for a season and a half now….
Good luck getting anything for him, Dodger Management ! 🙂
Young players have ups and downs – ever hear of the “sophomore slump?” Puig is still one of the most talented players in the game. Trading him is not a never-do-it thing, but you need to get a BIG return.
Hey Jonny. Everything good, hope as well with your family. I certainly understand the criticisms of Yasiel, just trying to understand when you might have traded him. After the 2014 season then?
Scarey thought!!!
A package including Seager, Montas, Barnes, and Guerrero (with the Dodgers likely picking up his salary, as they often do in trades) would at least force the Rays to consider giving up Archer and McGee.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/proposing-a-dodgers-trade-for-chris-archer/
There are exactly three names on the Dodger Roster that no one should even think of asking for: Kershaw, Seager, & Urias. Their names should end conversations.
Seager is not going anywhere.
Reactions to the Todd Frazier trade: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/reactions-to-and-effects-of-the-todd-frazier-trade.html
At times there’s just no end to the idiocy that can be found online. This appeared in a hand-wringing thread elsewhere, believe it or not.
“As much as everyone hate McCort, he in fact did bring the Dodgers back to relevance and into the postseason. How McCort ended completely disguises the good things that he accomplished.”
Charles Manson had friends, too.
I happen to agree with this thought. Until the last year or so, when the McCourts got caught up and swallowed by the LA lifestyle, the Dodgers had become competitive. We like to dwell on the negatives, and they had many, but the team was in the mix.
It’s good to be balanced and remember the good, but you seem a bit generous to McCort. In his last two years we finished 4th and 3rd. 12 and then 11.5 games back in a fairly weak division. I even felt sympathy for Ned.
and those were the years they lost focus and fell into the LA life
So then that would be the last two years with a McCort roster going into a third year. Seems a bit more than “a year or so”. Painful memories.
picky picky…..
Sorry, not sure what got into me. Please feel free to understate the record in order to support your point.
“Don’t write the Dodgers off yet, you fools”
Says Grant Brisbee
“Regardless of what they do, it’s not time to label the Dodgers’ offseason a failure. It’s been
weird, sure. Filled with stops and starts and surprises. But it’s not over, and they don’t have to make a mega-whopper deal for Fernandez to salvage anything. They still have options, and the means to acquire just about anything worth acquiring. Writing them off seems like a good way to look silly later on.
“The biggest surprise? That the 2016 rotation projects to be better, mostly because of a full season with Alex Wood and a moderately healthy Hyun-Jin Ryu. The lefty-heavy rotation still has the best pitcher alive, and four good-to-competent arms behind him.”
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/12/18/10600386/lets-finish-the-dodgers-offseason-for-them?_ga=1.12989748.2014194878.1389713399
https://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/677735890266009600
Read where Matt Holliday is working out at first base to increase his versatility. I wonder if he could be a fit for a year or two with the Dodgers, platoon in left and relieve Agon.
I have fond memories of Matt playing LF in DS.
And I have un-fond memories of Crawford trying to play LF. How about Crawford and $30M to the Cards for Holiday? They would welcome the money and ditch Crawford at the first dumpster they passed…
I don’t know who has more fun, Package with his opinions or the guys that like to bash him because they disagree.
https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/677967858266062848
More rumors about Odorizzi, Leake and Kazmir.
In theory, a guy with stuff like Leake should play well in DS, though that was not the case in the Phone Booth. Probably will want at least 5 years in any event at some ridiculous price. I would stay away.
Cliff Corcoran of SI wonders just what the Dodgers will do in the time remaining before spring training. I’d point out that there are still two months before then.
More fodder for the farm… “The Mariners have announced that the club designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment to clear space for the signing of Hisashi Iwakuma. And the team further announced that previously-designated lefty Tyler Olson has been dealt to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash.
So, if I am understanding this, we traded a player who was not ours, with whom we had a deal and found a way to back out….for a DFA’d pitcher, and we are sending them money.
Having lived through the Koufaxless years of 1967, 1968 and the year of Zolio Versailes playing short while batting .196 in 1969 I find all this sky is falling mentality humorous.
Ack! I never did understand trading Maury to the Pirates and getting Zoilo to play SS. As the record shows, he was still a good-hitting SS, particularly in the pitchers’ era that he played in.
I remember something happening between Wills and management, never heard what, but they dispatched him all of a sudden….he was persona non grata for quite a while
I think, if I remember correctly, it had something to do with Wills not being willing to go with the team to play in Japan. That was my understanding.
And that was supposed to be cecause he didn’t have skin on his legs after stealing 104 bases.
From the post:
There’s a large degree of similarity between national sportswriters and the nation’s Presidential press corps.
now you are going to tell us how the dodgers are going to build a wall and make the fans pay for it
Jerry Sands has been DFA’d again. Remember when we thought he was going to be the answer? We should keep that in mind whenever we think of our present prospects…
Jerry Sands was never a top prospect. He had a few brief shining moments.
Agree, Sands was never a top prospect, which is not to say that we have not had top hitting prospects flame out such as Andy LaRoche.
Talk, talk, talk…. https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/677563786325291008
You are really on a high horse, no? Mocking the FO based upon what a blogger says?
Merely pointing out what everyone knows already, that there is always a lot of talk and comparatively little action. Not just this FO, in all baseball. Sorry, didn’t realize you had a crush on FO…
I can’t but wish them well. Thanks. Apology accepted.
Considering that both our main Divisional rivals have strengthened their pitching staffs and we are hard put to find additional pitching upgrades to sign ourselves, an alternative plan might be to seriously upgrade our offense. To that end, signing Cespedes seems like our best option.
https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/677564773941153792
Looks like Seattle slammed those doors quite well.
Means little at this stage… https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/677524674645852160
Scratch one pitcher… https://twitter.com/Kazuto_Yamazaki/status/677521090579587072 Thanks, FO, for saving the rich guys $45M…
And a dissenting opinion… https://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/677532695237255168
He is no longer worth giving up a first round pick. I hope they just back away.
“Gone are the days of long costly contracts to players on the downhill side of their careers. Any future long contracts will be to lock up young players on the way up, as Friedman did in Tampa Bay with third baseman Evan Longoria.”
Thoughtful piece:
http://www.thinkbluela.com/index.php/2015/12/17/dodgers-its-all-about-the-money/
Red meat for the neighborhood wolves–
http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/159839604/friedmans-plan-for-dodgers-coming-into-focus
https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/status/677249164221247489
Bob Nightengale seems to think that the Dodgers FO plan on going after a #2 starter with the wealth of prospects they have collected. I know Fernandez and Carrasco will be expensive, but we can hope.
They may very well be going after a #2, but trading 3 prospects for 3 others doesn’t constitute collecting a wealth of prospects.
Maybe he was referring to the quality of the talent they acquired.
Sure, or fit issues with potential trading partners, or even freeing up a guy like Joc to be traded.
You just made Package’s day!!!
Never mind the Dodgers in general. Think about the offseason Gabe Kapler is having. Coming in second in the managerial search. And then having his boy Scott Schebler traded away for other prospects. Clearly the team is not afraid of upsetting this guy. (Yes, I realize teams should never ever be afraid of upsetting an employee. Or something like that.)
MLB.com’s Richard Justice thinks he knows what Friedman et. al. are up to and he approves. He sees a stockpiling of future prospects with which to deal for established starting pitching.
Grant Brisbee’s take on things:
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/12/16/10308274/reds-white-sox-dodgers-trade-todd-frazier?_ga=1.49313061.2014194878.1389713399
I am pretty certain another trade is brewing, possibly with some of the acquired players.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield likes the Dodgers’ end of the deal with the Pale Hose and the Redlegs.
From Dodger Digest: As it currently stands, however, the Dodgers have sacrificed their talent lead on their rivals in the present because they didn’t want to take on future risk even with the largest payroll in baseball. As a result, they have a roster that’s ironically loaded with risk and now absolutely needs a bunch of things to break right just to get them back to 2015 levels and compensate for what hasn’t happened in the off-season. Lots of similar thoughts. http://dodgersdigest.com/2015/12/16/dodgers-far-from-doomed-but-all-the-worrying-is-understandable/
In the middle of the trade with the White Sox, Kiké posted a tweet which confused people. The result was dismay on the part of his fans.
There appears to be some movement involving the Dodgers and Todd Frazier, but it is a three way with the White Sox and it seems he is going there. Is there someone of the Sox that we want?
The other side:
From Dodgers to Reds:
No. 4 Jose Peraza, 2B
No. 13 Scott Schebler, OF
NR Brandon Dixon, 2B
And we got from Sox
No. 3 Montas
No. 5 Johnson
No.14 Thompson
Now need to adjust for farm strength.
AKA Larry, Moe, & Curly…
Surely a disappointment for those expecting to find Aroldis, Ben and Yoenis under the tree.
A lump of coal for FO this year. And I may throw it at his head…
I expect to see Aroldis under the tree before Christmas.
More like red, white and blue poker chips.
Or could make other players a bit more expendable and available for trade (Mr Pederson, please pick up the white courtesy phone, it’s your new manager, Donnie Baseball, calling).
Donnie wanted Pederson’s defense as he was having to play SVS and Ethier in CF and Hanley at SS. He has a CF already in Miami.
No need with me, at least, to rush to the defense of Joc. In any event, doesn’t the owner hate the CF?
I know Bob, just looking for a spot to say that. I think Loria hates Boras more than Ozuna. I can’t argue with that.
I’ll rate that trade as a waste of ink. If that’s the best FO can do, we’re doomed. Hate giving up Schleber and Peraza and getting nothing in return.
Nothing = no one I have ever heard of?
Happy Holidays to all.
Bah humbug!
Link: I admire your optimism, but from where I live in the heart of Giants country, I can tell you that their fans are a lot happier today than ours are. The Giants and Diamondbacks each have taken two large steps forward in the starting pitching department. The Dodgers have moved down one giant step. Did the Dodgers have a relationship with Greinke in which they asked him to talk with them one last time before signing with any other club? My feeling is that our FO is in shock, and that has been evidenced by their failure to do anything.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For instance we like cookies, chocolate kisses, and elves. Team those things together and well, a picture is worth a 1000 words.
Somehow I don’t find that picture appealing…
So are you saying Link: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”