Alright, let's talk about a couple things that have gone down recently.
Jamey Carroll signed with the Dodgers for two years and I am apathetic. Carroll's an average bat, and not bad with the glove. It kind of goes down like this: if Carroll is our starting 2nd baseman, we're in trouble. If Carroll fills the role that Mark Loretta had last year, then we are better off. Either way, the contract is only two years and it's under $4 million, so it's not a bad signing.
The Dodgers also added Luis Ayala on the cheap. As Mike at MSTI points out, Ayala's been (in Mike's words) a "monumental jackass." He did a write up about Ayala here. I don't like how much of a jackass Ayala is, but I'm not worried much about him affecting clubhouse chemistry or anything. The brilliant thing about Joe Torre is, say what you will about his coaching style but the man knows how to control a clubhouse. I don't think Ayala will be a problem. He might suck at pitching, but that's another story...
Speaking of adding players on the cheap, Diamond Leung reported on his Twitter that the Dodgers also brought back Doug Mientkiewicz and Ángel Berroa on minor league deals. I like Mientkiewicz, he's not great, but he's an okay option as a backup to Loney or being a left handed bat off the bench. If we have to use Berroa, I'm going to be off-put.
Off-putting.
And finally, Juan Pierre is gone, and he's still getting on my nerves. When Dylan Hernandez covered the Pierre trade for the L.A. Times, he went to Pierre to get some quotes. Here's a piece of the article:
"'I've been in the witness protection program for the last two years.'
Pierre said he didn't consider his last three years a waste.
'When I first signed with them, people were like, 'What in the world were they thinking?' ' he said. 'I've been criticized so much in the last three years, so I'm ready for the Chicago media. All in all, it's made me a stronger person.'"
Long sigh...
"Witness protection"? You appeared in 264 of 324 games the last two years and started 162 of those games. You weren't a ghost.
And I'm glad this whole experience made you "a stronger person." Guess what, Juan? You were getting paid millions upon millions of dollars to play baseball, so take a little criticism in the media.
And by the way, most of the things I see about you in the media are complementary. Writers and television announcers have had almost nothing but praise for your "grittiness" or "baseball attitude" or whatever.
You're a baseball player, not a pariah. Get over yourself.
I was going to call this post something along the lines of "Our Long National Nightmare is Over" but I always seem to come late to the party.
Anyway, sources (I'm looking at you, Tim Brown) are reporting the Dodgers have shipped Juan Pierre off to the White Sox. Dodgers will eat $10.5 million of the $18.5 million left on the two years of Pierre's contract.
In return, we are getting a couple of PTBNL's, some salary relief, and a new lease on life.
Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but Pierre has been somewhat of albatross on the Dodgers the last three years. A combination of his strikingly sub-par ability to get on-base (as a leadoff man, no less), his horrifyingly below average throwing arm, and his dwindling stolen base rate (71.% in 2009) has made Pierre somewhat of a negative word amongst Dodger fans.
... But all that's over. That's Chicago's problem now.
Now, as for the trade, we could talk about Pierre's (mostly) professional attitude to becoming a bench player for the first time in his life, but that's been covered.
We could also look at the implications of the trade: is this money we just opened up for a free agent or lawyers' bills? Given that we are eating much of his contract, will the PTBNL's we get have some nice value or are we just happy if they have a pulse? Questions to be answered.
... But you know what? That's for a later time. For now, I'll just leave it at this: Pierre it's been fun. Enjoy the fact that you will actually be playing in Chicago. (We all will.)
So, another week has gone by without any substantial Dodger news taking place, at the GM winter meetings, no less. Well, I suppose that's not necessarily true. We did lose Randy Wolf to the Brewers for three years and about 9.25 million a year.
Now, you can debate whether giving that contract to Wolf to keep him would have been in our best interest or not, but what's become pretty clear is that, at the very least, arbitration should have been offered. Milwaukee was the 14th worst team in the league last year, so we would have been given their 2nd round pick, as well as a sandwich pick in between the 1st and 2nd round of next year's draft. There's a lot of quality to be found in those picks, especially when Logan White is running the draft.
But alas, no arbitration offered, no picks gained, and the farm system becomes harder to replenish. It's kind of amazing how this whole McCourts' divorce thing is not only finding ways to screw up the Dodgers in the present but the future as well. Really, though, I feel like the worst part about all this is that there never was any real intention of bringing Wolf back. There were some reports about Wolf being open to returning to the Dodgers at two years for around 8 million a year. Whether these claims were valid or not, I don't know, but ultimately, I don't think it matters. I think the key to the claims is that Wolf wanted to remain a Dodger. And why not? We've had success (at least more so than Milwaukee). We've got a good young core. And, probably most important to Wolf, we're his home town team. He had reason to stay, and yes, he probably would have given us a home town discount. But again, I just get the feeling that we weren't having any of it.
So, that's where we stand. No Wolf. No draft picks. Nothing but memories of one of our best pitchers last year. Sigh.
...and even worse: no more "Hungry like the Wolf" jokes.
Meanwhile, in lesser news: Jamie Hoffmann was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Yankees. The key here is that Hoffmann has to stay on the Yankees roster the whole season otherwise he is offered back to us. The Yankees have Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher on the roster for next season, as well as Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner, who serve as reserve outfielders and pinch runners. If the Yankees don't add a free agent outfielder, I could see Hoffman making it as the 5th outfielder. But let's be honest. They have a field of Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui to choose from... The Yankees will buy one of them. Maybe two. Unless they ship off Cabrera or Gardner (or both), Hoffmann probably doesn't make it the whole season. Of course, then the question becomes: how willing are we to take on the added payroll of a Jamie Hoffmann?
Hoffmann is likely to demand a salary of at least six figures.
Elsewhere, the Dodgers tendered contracts to all nine players who were contract tender-able. Eight of those players pretty much compose the young core of the team, and there's also Jason Repko. What? Yeah, he's still with the team. Some people are upset we are still paying him, I don't care. He's like a remnant of the Dan Evans era. Keep him around. Meanwhile, the other eight players are in line for a big raise through arbitration. So, look for that to be one of the reasons given for our lack of free agent spending at the end of the offseason.
And finally!
The Dodgers signed Josh Towers to a minor league contract this week. Now, when I heard this news, I was happy for some reason. For a while, I couldn't remember why. Towers has had minimal success in the majors, and none really since 2005. He spent all of 2008 in the minors, and he made a couple appearances last year for the Yankees and was ok. Apparently he was pretty good in AAA for most of the year.
Basically, what I'm saying is, it's not a fantastic signing. Towers might make it as the swingman/long relief guy, but more likely, he'll probably come up from AAA to make a few spot starts sometime during the season a la Eric Milton. I mean, this is not a bad signing, but it's not lighting the Dodger world on fire.
But for some reason, I like Josh Towers. I looked him up, he's from Port Hueneme. That's round here. So, he's a local boy. I always like when we bring back local players. But that wasn't the reason I knew Josh Towers. I mean, there are a lot of players from the Los Angeles area. I don't know them all.
So, I kept thinking about it, and finally, it hit me.
Josh Towers was a very valuable part of the 2005 World Champion Dodgers... on my copy of MVP Baseball 2005. I won't delve too deeply into how good a game MVP Baseball 2005 was, but I will say that it was, and still is, the only baseball video game that I've been able to go a full season in. Most games, I'll start a season, make 30-40 games in and eventually lose interest. Not with MVP Baseball 2005. 162 games... and I'm pretty sure I went 162-0 over that span, too. And then I swept my way through the playoffs and won the World Series in 4 games. And Josh Towers was my number five starter that year. He probably won 20-something games that year. I don't remember how or why I traded for him, but I do know that he provided 30+ quality starts for an improbable championship team.
Josh Towers, Starting Pitcher, 2005 World Champion Dodgers
If that's not enough of a reason for me to be happy we signed him five years later, then I don't know what is...
So, it's been a while since my last post, and it's not for lack of not being around. It's just that the biggest news recently is the signing of Justin Miller, so you can understand my lack of enthusiasm.
Whoo-pee...
I'll probably have to figure a way to write posts about nothing, because the way this off-season is shaping up, I don't get the feeling there's going to be a lot of action.
Hence this post.
If you are bored, take a hack at one of the following puzzles based on statistics from the last season.
HERE'S THE BATTER'S ONE
and
HERE'S THE PITCHER'S ONE
The pitcher one is admittedly tougher, though the whole thing is kind of tough if you don't follow baseball as a whole.
Anyway, while you are at it, you might want to take another swipe at the Dodger based quiz I posted about earlier this offseason.
If you want, you can post your scores in the comments section of this post.
So this weekend I delivered my third and final speech in a college speech class I'm enrolled in. Naturally, I chose to talk about the Dodgers. Look, I even made an awesome time line:
But I digress. In researching the topic, I came across the Dodgers History page from the official site.
And in looking through the history of the Dodgers, I learned something interesting... the Dodgers have some weird-ass moments in their history.
And now, I'd like to share some of my favorite moments with you.
"June 12, 1890: Brooklyn beats the Giants, 12-6, at Washington Park in the first game to feature a passionate dispute between the two clubs in the National League, ignited by Brooklyn third-base coach Darby O'Brien, who pretended to be a baserunner and drew a throw over to third."
-What now? How does this even happen? Did the pitcher have such short term memory that he couldn't remember there wasn't a runner on third? That's such an 1890s thing, a third base coach acting like a runner and trying to trick the pitcher. That's crazy... I mean, could you imagine Larry Bowa trying that today? ... Eh, bad example.
"Sept. 1, 1890: Let's play three? Brooklyn dispatches Pittsburgh three times in one day."
-The triple header? Nice. "I'm ready for a fourth!" says Dodger center fielder Cornelius "One-eyed" Jackson.
"May 29, 1892: Eight days after losing 28-year-old outfielder George "Hub" Collins to typhoid fever, the Bridegrooms and St. Louis Browns put on a benefit All-Star Game to raise money for his widow."
-They lost an outfielder to typhoid fever?! "Suck it up, Hub!" says polio-stricken Dodger first baseman Cornelius "Wheelchair" Jackson. That's definitely another thing that's very 1890s, a player catching typhoid fever. I mean, what would your reaction be if you learned Manny caught typhoid fever? ... Eh, bad example.
"May 30, 1893: William "Brickyard" Kennedy beats Louisville, 3-0 and 6-2, in both games of a twin bill, allowing just eight hits all day. He's the first Major Leaguer to pitch and win two games on the same day since the mound was moved to 60 feet, six inches from the plate."
-Good ol' "Brickyard" Kennedy tossed a double header. I know men were men in those days, but still, didn't their arms ever get sore?
"July 21, 1900: Deacon McGuire sticks his bat out to avoid being intentionally walked, and connects to allow the winning run to cross the plate."
-No one pulls a fast one over Deacon McGuire!
"Sept. 12, 1900: "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity, who has appeared in every game of the week, closes out both ends of a twin bill on a good day for the Superbas and not so good day for the Reds, who commit a record 17 errors in the doubleheader."
-Nothing too weird here, just love the idea of being referred to as "Iron Man" McGinnity. Though 17 errors? I'd put much of the blame for that at the feet of the Reds manager for starting Reginald "No-arms" McIntyre at first.
I love the timeline here:
"April 17, 1904: Blue Laws prevent charging for ballgames on Sundays, but Charles Ebbets holds a game anyway, selling scorecards to all fans instead of tickets."
"June 17, 1906: Charles Ebbets and manager Ned Hanlon are arrested after a scheme to charge fans after a Sunday game to avoid the Blue Laws doesn't pass muster with the local authorities."
-No one escapes Johnny Law, Ebbets!
"March 13, 1915: Wilbert Robinson, after bragging that he could catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, is set to prove his mettle. But when aviation pioneer Ruth Law forgets to bring the baseball, she drops a grapefruit, which explodes on impact in Robbie's glove."
-Well, that seems like a reasonable bet. This is even more fun when you realize Robinson was the manager at the time. This time the question actually works: can you imagine Joe Torre trying out a stunt like this? That would be amazing to watch.
By the way, if your only job is to fly the plane and drop the baseball, how do you forget the baseball? And what makes you think dropping a grapefruit in it's place is a good idea?
"July 1, 1917: Another Sunday, another attempt by Charles Ebbets to find a way to play baseball, despite Blue Laws prohibiting him from charging admission. Ebbets claims the money is going to charity and has a band and exhibition to prove it, but the police who arrest him and his manager Wilbert Robinson are unconvinced."
-That Ebbets, what a sneaky guy... Whenever you get worried about the Dodgers being negatively affected by the McCourts divorce, just comfort yourself with this: at least neither of them has been arrested multiple times.
"June 6, 1918: Casey Stengel, making his return to Ebbets Field after being traded during the offseason, tips his cap to the crowd and a sparrow flies out from under it."
-That's mildly creepy. And yet, unfortunately, another thing I don't have trouble imagining Manny doing.
"April 30, 1919: Burleigh Grimes pitches 20 long innings, but Philadelphia's Joe Oeschger matches him and the game ends in a 9-9 tie."
-Ha HA! Burleigh Grimes sees "Brickyard" Kennedy tossing a double header and says: "I'll pitch two more innings than you! And I'll do it without a break!"
"Sept. 7, 1924: Thousands of fans show up early and use crowbars to tear the gates open at Ebbets Field for a chance to watch Brooklyn battle the Giants."
-Well, you got to admire a fan's passion... Weird thing is, these were still the days when people wore their Sunday best to go out to the ballpark. Suits, fedoras, and crowbars. That, my friends, is a recipe for awesome.
"April 18, 1925: Charles Ebbets dies from heart failure. Co-owner Edward McKeever catches a cold at Ebbets' funeral and dies 11 days after Ebbets. Wilbert Robinson will be elected president."
-NOOO WILBERT! THE POSITION IS CUR-SED!!!
"Jan. 24, 1934: Giants skipper Bill Terry flippantly asks "Brooklyn? Is Brooklyn still in the league?"
-Nice that this is considered part of our history... "You haberdasher!" replies Dodgers bench coach/reserve outfielder Cornelius "Father Time" Jackson.
"Aug. 2, 1938: Larry MacPhail introduces yellow baseballs, which only see action in three games."
-I guess that idea Mac-failed! Hey-oh!
"July 19, 1942: Pete Reiser suffers a concussion after crashing into the outfield wall at Sportsman's Park, one of 11 times the outfielder had to be carried off the field in his career."
-"Get up, you scalawag!" yells Cornelius "How old is this guy?!" Jackson. "My record is 15 times!"
"June 4, 1947: A priest administers last rights to Dodgers outfielder Pete Reiser after he crashes into the wall, but holds on to the ball in a 9-4 victory over the Pirates. Reiser recovered after a stint in the hospital."
-"Impressive work, Mr. Reiser!" says Cornelius "Deathbed" Jackson. "But get back to me after you've been buried alive for three days only to play a double header on the fourth!"
April 23, 1950: Cornelius "Dead" Jackson dies. It is the last time anything weird ever happens to the Dodgers.
The End.
So, it's come to this. The final award. MVP.
This is a tough one, let's take a look at the options.
The nominees are:
Randy Wolf
-A nominee for the "J's Dodger Blog Cy Young Award," even though Randy didn't win, one could arguably say he meant more to the team. He delivered quality start after quality start down the stretch for the Dodgers, and there is a lot of value in that.
Matt Kemp
-Gold Glove? Check. Silver Slugger? Check. 26 homeruns and 101 RBIs? Yeah. 34 stolen bases, too? Uh-huh. A breakout season for Matt Kemp as he slowly becomes a top tier player in this league. He's got five tools, and he uses them all. If this season is just a sign of things to come, Kemp is going to have a monster career.
Clayton Kershaw
-He did win the "J's Dodger Blog Cy Young Award." Have I mentioned yet that he's 21 and very good?
Andre Ethier
-A Silver Slugger, too? Yeah. Andre Ethier notched 31 homeruns and drove in 106 RBIs this season. I think most people felt Ethier could be a good player, but I don't know how many people thought Ethier was a 30-100 guy. He not only met expectations, he passed them easily. Oh, and by the way, when the playoffs came around, Ethier only got better: a .355 average, three homers, six RBIs, and a 1.235 OPS.
...and the winner is...
Andre Ethier.
This was a close call for me. Kemp was so good this year, but I can't deny what Ethier did. On top of how good his numbers were, you have to also factor in his six walk off hits.
Six walk off hits... including four homeruns. That, my friends, is a clutch performer.
Ethier was the team leader in homeruns, doubles, RBIs, walks, and walk off hits.
And for all that, Andre Ethier is your "J's Dodger Blog 2009 MVP."
Alright, moving on to the heavy hitters of the awards. First up: Cy Young. There are three big candidates for this, let's jump in.
The nominees are:
Randy Wolf
-When Randy Wolf is healthy, he can be one of the most effective pitchers in the game. Wolf set new career highs with 34 starts and 214.1 innings worth of pitching this year. And he posted a 3.23 ERA over that span (in his career: second only to his 3.20 ERA in 2002). Maybe Wolf wasn't always lights out, but he was consistent. And over a long season, that means a lot. In fact, in only one start this year did Wolf not go a full 5.0 innings. And in 29 of his 34 starts, Wolf went 6.0 or more innings. All in all, a pretty good year for Wolf.
Clayton Kershaw
-30 starts, 185 Ks, and a 2.79 ERA is a nice line of stats. When you consider that those numbers were put up by a 21 year old kid in his first real full season, they look so much better. The future is bright for Kershaw.
Jonathan Broxton
-He's the "J's Dodger Blog 2009 Reliever of the Year." Isn't that good enough?!
...and the winner is...
Clayton Kershaw.
Randy Wolf had a career year, and I want to take nothing away from him, but just check some of the stats Clayton Kershaw has:
8th in all of baseball in ERA. 7th in all of baseball in strikeouts per 9 innings. 2nd in all of baseball in fewest homeruns per 9 innings. 1st in all of baseball in fewest hits per 9 innings.
Not to mention his ERA at home this year was 1.83.
I mean, this kid is good.
And he's 21.
Here's to the bright future. Clayton Kershaw is the winner of "J's Dodger Blog 2009 Cy Young Award."
Alright, let's talk about a couple things that have gone down recently.
Off-putting.
