Mark Sweeney played two games at 1st base this year, and an inning in left field once. I think that makes him a 1st baseman...
Player: Mark Sweeney
2008 Stats: .130, 12-92, 5 RBIs
2008 Analysis: Mark Sweeney had 12 hits this year. That's it. For comparison, in the seven games from August 6th to August 12th, Matt Kemp had 13 hits. Matt Kemp matched Mark Sweeney's entire 2008 offensive output in one week, and he did it in 60 less at-bats. Better yet, Manny Ramírez collected 14 hits in five games from August 26th to August 30th. He did that in 70 less at-bats than Sweeney.
How bad was Mark Sweeney? Had not one, not two, but three instances during the season when he went over 20 days without a base hit (and I'm not counting his time on the DL). And all these people who said he supposed improved by the end of the season? From August 26th till the end of the season, he collected one base hit. Just one.
2009 Outlook: Mark Sweeney filed for free agency at the beginning of the offseason. I can't imagine he'll find a manager on any other team that would treat him as well as Joe Torre did. Mark Sweeney should have been cut before June started, and Torre kept him around for the entire season, even sacrificing better, younger players to keep a spot on the bench for good old Sweeney.
My hopes for 2009? I hope I don't see Mark Sweeney anywhere near a Dodger uniform unless it's as Coach Sweeney. Ok, let me rephrase. I don't ever want to see Mark Sweeney reaching for a bat in the Dodger dugout again. Ever.
Alright, now that catchers are done, we'll move around the diamond. On to 1st base...
Player: James Loney
2008 Stats: .289, 13 homeruns, 90 RBIs, 85 strikeouts, 45 walks, seven stolen bases
2008 Analysis: It's hard to say that a player that lead the team in RBIs with 90 had a disappointing year, but James Loney had a disappointing year.
Don't get me wrong, 90 RBIs is a big plus. However, for all the promise he showed in 2007, his first full season in 2008 was a big drop off. His power wasn't there. He had a little more than 250 at-bats in 2008 than in 2007 and hit two less homeruns. He also saw a drop off in his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. I'm going to chalk this up to a sophomore slump (even though this is really his third season in the majors).
On a side note, Loney did flash a little speed, going seven for 11 in stolen base opportunites. Not bad for a 1st baseman.
Defensively, Loney showed some good improvement. For now, he's solid with the glove, and many predict he's only getting better. He committed 13 errors in 1498 total chances (.991 fielding percentage). That's an improvement from 2007. He only committed four more errors in 2008 than he made in 2007, with 700 more chances. That's a step in the right direction.
2009 Outlook: For 2009, I fully expect to see James Loney starting 160+ games for us at 1st base. There's not much reason to think this won't be the case. Though James, let's hit up the weight room a little more during the offseason, huh? 13 homeruns from our 1st baseman is a little underwhelming.
Player: Mark Sweeney
2009 Outlook: Mark Sweeney filed for free agency at the beginning of the offseason. I can't imagine he'll find a manager on any other team that would treat him as well as Joe Torre did. Mark Sweeney should have been cut before June started, and Torre kept him around for the entire season, even sacrificing better, younger players to keep a spot on the bench for good old Sweeney.
