So, a couple more odds and ends for the Dodgers these past few days.
Happy trails to Takashi Saito, who signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox for one year and an option. Saito was a good closer, with one of the nastiest sliders I've ever seen, so it is a bit sad to see him go. At the same time, he might not be able to pitch anymore, which would make the blow a little easier to take. I honestly do hope that he can still pitch, because I like the guy, and I would like to see him succeed again.
Secondly, the Dodgers added another pitcher in Shawn Estes. I'm not too excited about this one. Estes was a name that when you saw him coming up for a start against us, you thought to yourself: "Well, that's at least one win guaranteed in the series." He's going to make $550,000, and could earn up to $1 million in incentives if he pitches up to 30 starts. Side note: if Shawn Estes makes 30 starts for us next year, we are going to be in some serious trouble.
On a light side note: Estes now joins Steve Finley and Matt Herges in the "I've Played For Every Team In The NL West Club."
Player: Esteban Loaiza
2008 Stats: 1-2, 5.63 ERA (seven games, three starts)
2008 Analysis: Wow! Was that really this year that Esteban Loaiza was with us? That's amazing. Until researching for these pieces, I hadn't remembered him, or at least I thought that was a year or two ago.
Well, I guess it was this year. And he made three starts? Wow. He actually pitched 24 innings. Wow. The only vague memory I have of him is throwing some soft low-80s fastball to somebody, and that person demolished it. And then Loaiza was gone.
2009 Outlook: Well, sensibly, Loaiza was Designated for Assignment pretty fast into the 2008 season and ended up with the Chicago White Sox, where he played in three games the rest of the year. I don't know where he is now (maybe retired? maybe a free agent? The White Sox released him in July after those three games and a trip to the disabled list), but I'm guessing we are still paying him part of his contract to be there.
Player: Hong-Chih Kuo
2008 Stats: 5-3, 2.14 ERA, 96 Ks (42 games, three starts)
2008 Analysis: I think Dodger fans always knew that Hong-Chih Kuo would be something special if he could stay healthy. He proved us right in 2008 (although he was injured by the end of the season).
His ERA was only about 3.00 for a few games early in the season, but for most of the season, he was in the 2.00 ERA range and even had a good two and a half months where he was under 2.00. His WHIP was 1.01, and he racked up 16 more strikeouts than innings pitched. It was a pretty good year.
Plus, he won the "TYIB Setup Man" award, and more importantly, the "J's Dodger Blog 2008 Reliever of the Year" award.
2009 Outlook: Well, if Hong-Chih Kuo can remain healthy, he'll be excellent in our bullpen in 2009, as either lefty reliever, setup man, long reliever, or even closer. The key words there being "if Hong-Chih Kuo can remain healthy."
So, I've been a little busy the last week, and as such, wasn't able to write about a couple of things that happened.
First, happy trails to Scott Proctor, who signed a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins. At least now he gets to avoid Joe Torre for a little while.
Second, happy trails to both Ángel Berroa and Jason Johnson. Though I don't believe anything has been made official yet, both are heading to the New York Yankees. Um... they will be missed? I don't have much else.
Finally, the Dodgers added a pitcher, by signing Claudio Vargas. He's ok... He recorded double digit wins in 2006 and 2007, but has never had a sub-4.00 ERA. I'm not thrilled about the acquisition, but I guess it couldn't hurt to have an extra pitcher around.
These are the relievers who made a couple starts during the season.
Player: Chan Ho Park
2008 Stats: 4-4, 3.40 ERA, 79 Ks (54 games, five starts)
2008 Analysis: Chan Ho Park really revived his career coming back to the Dodgers. After appearing in only one game in 2007 for the New York Mets, he signed a contract to come back to the Dodgers. And he was, for the most part, pretty impressive.
His 3.40 ERA is a bit deceiving as he had a sub-3.00 ERA for most of the year until a late season meltdown.
Oh, and he also won the "J's Dodger Blog 2008 Comeback Player of the Year" award.
It was a pretty good year for Chan Ho, so much so, that he decided he could ask for a starting pitcher role in 2009, which leads to...
2009 Outlook: Chan Ho signed with the Philadelphia Phillies earlier in the offseason because they said he'd have the possibility of becoming their 5th starter. I somewhat alluded to it in that post, but this might not be such a good idea for Chan Ho. Chan Ho left us in 2001 and in the seven seasons he spent away from us, he never had an ERA below 4.80. In fact, only pitching for San Diego in 24 games in 2006 did he have an ERA under 5.00. His worst years came in Texas, where the baseball fly out of the park.
So what did Chan Ho Park do when this offseason came around. He left the Dodgers and signed a contract with a team who plays in one of the smallest parks in the majors, where balls are constantly flying out of the yard.
I'm not condemning Chan Ho back to a career of failures, but I'm just saying his 2009 outlook doesn't look too good.
Player: Eric Stults
2008 Stats: 2-3, 3.49 ERA, 30 Ks, 1 CG shutout (7 starts)
2008 Analysis: Stults came up mid-season to make a handful of starts for the injured Dodger pitching staff and he wasn't too bad.
He had three quality starts (including the complete game shutout of the Chicago White Sox on June 25th) and four shorter outings (though none he never gave up more than four runs in an outing).
The interesting thing is that Stults made as many starts for the Dodgers as Greg Maddux, and for the most part, out-dueled him. He had the same amount of wins, fewer losses, a lower ERA, more strikeouts, and more complete game shutouts.
That's not bad for a kid who's really, sadly becoming a AAAA player.
2009 Outlook: It is a bit hard to pencil in Stults name in the 2009 starting rotation, even as a 5th starter. It's really a kinda tough predicament.
He's not been bad. In fact, he's shown signs of quality and he's left handed, which is a plus for any rotation. Still, there's a certain untangable about him that makes me feel uneasy about giving him 30 or so starts at the major league level.
Then again, the way this offseason is heading, who's to say who the Dodgers will have lined up for the 2009 season. Stults might very well find himself in the position by default ...which I guess I wouldn't have too much of a problem with...
Player: Greg Maddux
2008 Stats: 2-4, 5.09 ERA (7 starts) (Full Season: 8-13, 4.22 ERA)
2008 Analysis: Greg Maddux was acquired by the Dodgers on August 19th from the San Diego Padres and made seven starts from then until the end of the year. And frankly, he wasn't too impressive.
He did have three fairly good starts (September 1st, September 14th, and September 27th), and four pretty bad ones (August 22nd, August 27th, September 8th, and September 19th).
He did spend some quality time with our younger pitchers, though, and that almost makes his sub-par performance worth it.
2009 Outlook: Well, seeing as Maddux retired earlier in the offseason, I'm guessing his 2009 season will be spent with his family. I do hope though, that if he ever decides on becoming a coach, he does it with us. He's one of the better baseball minds in the game, and having him around our team can only bring good results.
Secondly, the Dodgers added another pitcher in Shawn Estes. I'm not too excited about this one. Estes was a name that when you saw him coming up for a start against us, you thought to yourself: "Well, that's at least one win guaranteed in the series." He's going to make $550,000, and could earn up to $1 million in incentives if he pitches up to 30 starts. Side note: if Shawn Estes makes 30 starts for us next year, we are going to be in some serious trouble.
