Olmedo Saenz sucks. He has a slow bat, a hole in his swing, and can't find his own #)#&%&#() at first base, much less field his position. Or something like that. I forget the mantra now.

Nice write up Jon. Just wondering where we will find that .875 OPS outfielder and 220 inning 3.25 starting pitcher. Looks like Matsui will stay in NY and Giles is probably a long shot to sign with DePodesta. Do you think Billingsley gets a shot at the rotation in spring training?
vr, Xei

No wonder 2005 was such a grisly year. Outside of Jeff Kent, Duaner Sanchez, and the arrivals of Navarro and Aybar, basically nothing of any importance went right. The story of the season was the pitching was a deep disappointment, and two of our only three sources of offense played only half of the time. Amid the starvation diet of hits and homers, Jim Tracy's choice to sit Choi seems not just stupid but self-destructive. We missed Gagne, too, but he's not a factor if the starting pitching is this bad and the hitting this weak.

2 - I don't know where the Dodgers get them. As far as Billingsley, I have to think the rotation will be wide open in March, unless DePo works some magic. I do presume there will be the annual Alvarez/Lima/Erickson wish-upon-a-star candidate.

Somehow I think I might get blasted for this one... but it might be easier to trade for Ramirez instead of trying to outbid NY's rumored 35M/3yr deal for Matsui.

I would guess that the Dodgers would have to offer much more than the Yanks to pry him away, so add another year an 12M to that contract and you're paying Matsui almost 50M for 4 years. I'd be down so long as he didn't pull a Fred McGriff.

Just give me Giles.

Great writeup Jon, but pretty tough reading before lunch. Starting pitching is just frightening, and so darn tricky to fix, a fact brought home as I watched Roy "drafted after 700 hundred other guys" mow down the Cardinals again last night.

Well, the meaning was clear, but I see a dropped an "Oswalt" before mow in 6.

700 hundred other guys... and you thought Piazza was impressive!

Jon, great job. My only comment right now is: How did Drew and Cruz post the same OPS in the same ballpark and end up with different OPS+ numbers?

8 - I think it says Cruz matched Drew's OPS while Cruz was in LA. The OPS+'s in the tables are for the entire year.

9
All due respect, that is incorrect.

Nicely done, Jon! Puts it all in the right perspective.

Much more than this garbage on the Dodgers "strange managerial search" on Scout.com (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_455035_283&prov=citadel&type=story) which is full of mistakes and strikes entirely the wrong tone.

But anyway... back to the team... I agree with the needs. The manager to be will have some say in who stays and who they need, I presume, too.

I'm still not convinced Houlton's any more than a "hold your breath and hope for 5" kind of pitcher, but you're right that overpaying for Weaver won't make much sense (although he is an innings eater). But can they rely on him. They need one frontline dangerous pitcher, a potential Oswalt out there somewhere? Maybe one of their kids can come through as such in a year or 2... But they have money to spend this time and I'd guess a one big FA signing (and maybe only one given the thin pool), and one trade is what we'll see.

Seems like Navarro and Bako to start, Martin to come up later, at C. And hopefully the Jason Phillips experiment is over.

Thanks again.

udog

The needed hitter would seem to be much easier than the pitcher. Those that could be available via trade include:

Sexy/risky/expensive/tough to pry loose:
Jenkins or Lee MIL
Dunn CIN
ManRam BOS
ARod or Sheff NYY
Abreu or Burrell PHI

Avail, though probably not a fit:
Wells TOR
Hunter MIN
Delgado FLA

Less sexy, more attainable:
Wilkerson or Guillen WAS
Mench TEX
Nixon BOS

1. A 155-game, .875-OPS outfielder.

Possible options:

Austin Kearns - The Reds have their heads up their asses and don't know what to do with him; could be had in a trade. However he doesn't fit the health requirment.

Reggie Sanders - A free agent, I don't know if the Cards want him back/he wants to return.

Matt Lawton - Not quite the hitter the Dodgers need, but he's an option nonetheless.

2. A 220-inning, 3.25-ERA pitcher.

This is gonna be the hardest to find of course.

Kevin Millwood - Going to want a ton of money.

AJ Burnett - Too expensive, too injury prone.

Jarrod Washburn - Would be a nice coup to sign him away from the Angels, but bidding might be too high.

Paul Byrd - The smartest move perhaps. He's not going to command a lot of money, and he's realtively healthy.

Matt Morris - Could wind up being one the outside in big contract musical chairs, ala Millwood last year. He's dropped off the past two years, but he gives you innings.

3. A backup (or frontup) plan on the left side of the infield in case Aybar-Robles can't cut it.

Bill Mueller - Is a free agent and the Red Sox don't need to bring him back. The only option out there for 3B that would be a starter.

Wes Helms wouldn't be a bad backup/platoon option. Joe Randa is out there too, but I don't see him as a realistic option.

10 - Didn't realize that Cruz appeared in two of the tables w/ his numbers split. Excuse me.

Other than his usual bimonthly trade request, does anybody have any reason to believe that Boston will actually trade Ramirez? Trading him for anyone other than a Beltran or an A-Rod would send Red Sox Nation the message that "we do not plan to compete in 2006." A message which would go over even worse in Boston than it would in L.A....

Manny would rule. The press would hate him, though.

So would I. But hey, we'd win more games, so I'd keep my complaining to a minumum.

15 - If trades don't require that salaries match (like NBA) you could reason that if pitching was your weakness last year, then the $M's you saved by trading Manny allows you to spend on pitching.

Besides, didn't they place him on waivers 2 years ago?

15 - I'd be surprised if anything besides a Manny for Beltran trade happened, and I think that is a distinct possibility.

One other possibility could be Soriano for Manny though.

"If trades don't require that salaries match (like NBA) you could reason that if pitching was your weakness last year, then the $M's you saved by trading Manny allows you to spend on pitching."
-------------

Yeah, but what pitching? The BEST-case scenario for Boston would be replacing Manny with A.J. Burnett, which would result in the Sox moving from second place to third, or perhaps fourth.

I don't see a Manny-Soriano trade -- plus I think he would veto going to Texas.

I have no doubt the Red Sox will explore Manny trades, but I also don't think they'll just give him away without getting good value in return.

8 et al - Typo on Drew's OPS - it should be .932. Thanks for catching it.

20 - Not necessarily true considering you could get Burnett and a solid bat or two to cover some of the offensive dropoff from the Manny departure with the money that you've saved.

20M w/ 11 going to Burnett/Millwood and 9 going to ______.

It's harder for me to assume that the BoSox would be worse off w/o Manny.

23 - Unless Manny goes for Beltran, the BoSox will have to send a ton of cash along with him. Texas included $9M per year to move ARod.

How much of his $19M would Boston have to cover? $7M?

Plus Papi is due for an extension/big-time raise.

What would it take to trade for Millwod and Hunter?

Millwood is a FA. He'll probably be looking for a 3-yr deal, in the $8-10M range.

Hunter wouldn't require much. He's getting on in years, is expensive, and is coming off a major injury.

What would it take to trade for Millwod and Hunter?

Kevin Millwood is a free agent.

27- Thanks I dont know how I missed that but that could be a good thing.

28-Not that I missed him being a FA but him actualy being a FA.

24 - Unless Manny goes for Beltran, the BoSox will have to send a ton of cash along with him.

Probably, not necessarily - and I'm sure GMs explore every possibility.

Texas included $9M per year to move ARod.

Because NYY had no prospects. Dodgers do.

29 - Hindsight 20/20 and all that, but last year would've been the year to sign him, when he was on the cheap with something to prove (Matt Morris too).

Now you have to pay full market value for him, and I still see him as an injury question mark.

30 - Wow I realized my response made absolutely no sense w/ regards to Texas sending 9M per year... Time to take a DT break.

My assessment would be, to contend in 2006, we need additional good pitching more than hitting, if only because with Drew returning, possibly Bradley returning for one year, Kent still productive, Choi unleashed, and perhaps some return to form for Werth, we can be a decent hitting team. Our pitching, however, is unacceptable. We need to sign at least one of the few FA pitchers out there, Burnett, Millwood or Morris, and trade for another.

If we can't accomplish that, then I'd tell DePo to reverse course, trade Kent for some OF and pitching prospects, trade Navarro for more of the same (his trade value must be off the charts), trade Perez just to get him outta my face, and tell the fans, it's a rebuilding year, watch our kids grow. Penny, Drew and Gagne might get frustrated, but it will pay off in the years to come, and they might enjoy being part of the rebound. Or, if it looks like they're going to bolt, trade them at deadline time for some more 2007 pieces.

We won't have to worry about Plaschke or Keisser anymore; their heads will simply explode.

Of course, I'm hopeful that a sell-off won't be needed. But be prepared for DePo to have to overpay (in dollars, not prospects) for the pieces we need if we're going to compete in '06.

I don't think Boston would want prospects. Maybe, though.

Dodgers reportedly interested in giving Nomar a one year deal. That's probably a good risk.

http://tinyurl.com/aro6u

I do think that's a very good idea, signing Nomar to a one-year deal. It's a risk, but if he's healthy it could turn out to be a terrific signing.

Nomar is nowhere near as good a hitter as the general public thinks he is, but he's still probably a better option than anything else.

And if he breaks, we have Aybar.

33 - Given the uncertainty of Bradley, both from a production, health, and roster standpoint, I'd feel a heck of a lot better to add a thumper in Left.

And if Bradley is let go, Cruz/Werth/Ledee should be able to cover his production to a certain extent, but a thumper is absolutely required in that situation.

If Aybar has a Power breakout then we can call him A-Bomb.

I wouldn't mind Giles and Nomar this offseason.
I pray that Gagne will teach Jackson how to strike somebody out and Billingsley will be ready by midseason. Is Ted Lilly a free agent?

Nomar could play SS or 3B. And I have a hard time seeing him do better than the $8 million he got last year. What's not to like?

Plus there's the whole California native/McCourt Red Sox fetish angle. Makes too much sense not to happen.

Agree with 36 -- we need a big bopper much, much more than we need pitching. I trust Jayson Werth's production like I trust the guy selling Rolexes in Times Square.

"What's not to like?"
-----------

-Nomar has a good season.
-Dodgers make playoffs, Nomar becomes L.A.'s darling. You thought the fans liked Lima?
-Plaschke et al take DePo to the rack to resign Nomar.
-McCourt caves, orders DePo to give Nomar a long-term deal.

Other than that admittedly remote possiblilty, I can't really see a downside.

I totally forgot about Nomar. He would be a nice addition at 3B or SS--I wouldn't have a problem with Izturis being unseated.

I'd love Giles but I don't know if he's a realistic option for the Dodgers. I hope he is.

A .772 OPS in 62 games in Wrigley? I hope there's a discount for Nomar in the coming season.

FYI-Joel Guzman is playing 3b in the Dominican league this season.

Nice writeup Jon.

43: .772? ouch. I would guess he could be signable around $5-6M. Didn't he say that he wanted to stay with Chicago, though? I know he's from Southern California...

I would be more in favor of a Ted Lilly signing than a Nomar signing.

36,40 Obviously, we need a lot, a big bopper and a bunch of pitching. That's why I'm starting to teeter over into the trade-Kent camp. I figure we might not have a shot at contending under any circumstances--too many holes to fill. But: This might be a great off-season to be a seller.

2005 could be the fourth year in a row that a Wild Card team becomes world champs. That fact is not being lost on teams like the Reds, Jays, Indians, Twins, Tigers, A's, Mariners, Rangers, Brewers... All these teams are buyers now, along with the Yankees, Bosox, Cardinals, Padres and Angels, who don't want to slip.

To be able to dangle Jeff Kent, Dioner Navarro, Milt Bradley, Jason Werth, Odalis Perez or Eric Gagne as trade bait into this kind of market, the Dodgers might be able to stock up and make the 2007-and-beyond era period really interesting.

To try to do the reverse, and build our not-quite-solid enough core into a contender might be too much of a stretch. We could overpay like mad, and still fall well short of meeting all the Dodgers' needs.

36, 40 - are you kidding? The team's starting pitching was its worst feature!

Jon: disagree somewhat on Drew. He's sabermetrically correct, but his two-out and RISP hitting approaches were simply terrible this year. That is, there was a reason to be unhappy with his performance; it wasn't just something manufactured. That said, past performance is likely to be caused by (a) the jitters which seem to happen to lots of free agents in the first year of a big contract, and/or (b) small sample size (55 AB produced .218/.370/.364 in RISP situations this year). He will get better.

Kent for Manny? Boston is in desperate need of a 2B.

1. Aybar/Perez platoon, 2B
2. Bradley, CF
3. Drew, RF
4. Ramirez, LF
5. Garciaparra, 3B
6. Choi, 1B
7. Navarro, C
8. Robles/Izturis, SS

With Lowe, Ramirez, and Nomar on the team, I'm sure McCourt would be pleased.

47- Why dangle Gagne or navarro in a trade? Gagne's trade value wont be at its highest now that he's just coming off surgery and What would we do without navarro? You say Russel Martin but Martin has never seen Major League pitching he could flop then where would we be? back at mid-04 without a catcher.

48 - Right, we've been down this debate before. And sure, we can all wish he had driven in more runs - the danger is when people turn that into Drew failing in his role.

Drew was very close to being completely successful. In only 55 AB, just four more hits would raise that batting average to .291, which everyone would find acceptable, I think.

Beyond that, it seems likely, even on the small sample size, that teams pitched around Drew with RISP. Should Drew chase pitches out of the strike zone? Is that likely to be very helpful?

Could be at least 5 teams in the running for Nomar because they all view him as a cheap one year free agent with a big upside. Because of the interest he may end up not being so cheap. As a 3b with a OPS < 800 and a huge injury risk is he really that much of an upgrade over Aybar?

Sure, there's a price point where Nomar's not a good risk, but if the price is reasonable I'd rather try that than have Robles and Aybar be the left side of the infield. Besides, we'd still have those guys anyway if Nomar didn't work out.

52 I have no problem over paying to sign Nomar to a one year contract. It's doubtful that we'll be able to fill up the 23 million dollars or so we have available to get free agents. Consequently, signing Nomar to a one year contract really doesn't hurt our future plans in the least bit. If he gets hurt, swing the job to Aybar or Perez. Considering option two at the position is Bill Mueller, I can't see us losing much.

As it stands, he provides good production at two positions the Dodgers need help: short and third. He can play short until Izturis comes back, and then hand the job over in the mid season.

Stupid question: How does payroll work? Let's say the Dodgers can't find good uses for that $23 million or whatever DePo's got now, and he risks Plaschke's wrath and plays kids. Can he just bank it, and use in '07 and '08, run a $115 million payroll in those years if we see an expensive but essential missing piece out there?

I know in government and publicly traded businesses, you don't tend to do that.

49 You just beat me to it on Kent for Manny- that lineup rules. Ramirez has 10-and-5 veto rights so would he accept it? The Mets still seem like the likley partner since they can offer Cameron, Victor Diaz and/or Milledge to fill the OF hole.

55 DePo probably takes it to Vegas and puts it all on Black. :)

I just read that scout.com thing mentioned in post 11. Wow. What exactly is scout.com and where do they find their writers?

58- Whats it about?

Would you rather pay Manny or Arod 20 Million? With Texas paying 6 million of Arod deal in 2006 they come out about the same give or take a million:)
Arod's deal courtesy of http://www.mlb4u.com/nyy.html
- + will make 22M in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and then 26M in both 2005 and 2006 and then 27M in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010
- + Bonuses he can receive for awards: 1st MVP: 500K 2nd: 1M 3rd+: 1.5M; MVP Voting 2-5: 200K MVP Voting 6-10: 100K; All-Star selection: 100K; Top Vote Getter in All-Star: 100K; Media Awards/All-Star Selections: 100K; WS MVP-200K; LCS MVP-150K; DS MVP-150K; Gold Glove-100K; Silver Slugger-100K
- + - + bonuses he has earned: 100K for 2005 All-Star selection
- + he can void deal after 2007, 2008 or 2009
- + he has a guaranteed salary increase for 2009 and 2010 by the higher of the following: 5M or 1M greater than average annual value of the position player w/ highest annual average salary
- + 5M of 2001 salary is deferred and 4M each year of 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007 salaries deferred - + 3M of 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010 salaries deferred at 1.75% interest and paid each June 15 between 2016-25
- + the 36M in deferred money became an assignment bonus after trade to the NYY from TEX, which is paid: 5M + interest in 2016, 4M + interest in 2017 and 3M + interest in both 2018 and 2019, then 4M + interest in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and then finally 3M + interest in 2023, 2024, and 2025
- + Texas pays a total of 67M of his salaries from 2004 to 10: 3M in 2004, 6M in both 2005 and 2006, 7M in 2007, 8M in 2008, 7M in 2009 and 6M in 2010

Manny's deal:
Manny Ramirez: 8-year worth 160M- will make 18.067M in 2005, 19M in 06, 18M in 07 and 20M in 08- deal includes 2009 and 2010 Team Options worth 20M- + 3M of 2001 salary deferred and 4M of 2002 thru 2008-

ummmm...I hate to bring this up, but is Davey Lopes black?

60- I almost threw up reading that.

I had a thought this morning (dangerous, I know): Is there any way in the world we could pry Marcus Giles away from the Braves? It would be tough. Atlanta balked at trading him for Tim Hudson last year, although Giles did have a slightly disappointing year this year in that his average dipped a bit and power spike from 2003 did not resurface. Plus, he is one year closer to free agency now.

If we could get him from the Braves--trade Kent, trade from our surplus of pitching prospects, whatever, I'd be willing to give up solid talent to get him, he's only 27 or 28--it would put us in a great position to sign his brother Brian Giles.

That scout.com article is very strange. Davey Lopes is black? Depo is loath to spend on fre agents? Tell Drew, Kent and Lowe that.

61, 64 -- I had the same thought. There's so many weird things in there.

Baseball America has a article on Andy Laroche, they dont say a whole lot of good about him; they claim he needs to become more consistent and continue to work work hard. Im not sure that cant said about any minor leaguer. Apparently Greg Miller had a minor set-back. He came to the AFL with his old (2003) over the top pitching slot, and had some shoulder soreness. Logan White doesnt seem to worried and even intimated that Miller would compete for a role in the Dodger bullpen in '06.

Last time I checked, Nomar was 32; hadn't played a full season since 2003 because of injuries; the Cubs were talking about putting him in LF rather than SS or 3B;and his clubhouse presence in Boston was still viewed as toxic.

Other than that,he'll probably provide power at 3B for the 75 games that he'd be able to play.

63-Why not just sign Nomar for 1 yr sign millwood for whatever hes worth then pick up Hunter somehow. Save some money for mideason wheeling and dealing.

Pendleton's rapid retreat from the pending interview does not seem too important since it seemed as if he was the obligatory African-American candidate insisted upon by the owner's main man Bud Selig.

If you are really looking for a Black manager, you would give Davey Lopes a call but he's still waiting by the phone.

Jerry Royster is black. What a stupid article.

Davey Lopes' ethnicity seems to change a lot depending upon when you ask him.

He's definitely got a Portuguese name.

That's about all you can say definitively.

I wonder if the byline on that Scout.com article is a joke... Abe Yager covered the Dodgers for the Brooklyn Eagle for many years and was also an official scorer at Ebbets Field.

But I'm sure he's been dead a long time.

Anyway, I skipped that link the first time around, but after looking at it now... holy cow. He's like Plaschke except without any writing ability whatsoever.

-------------------

Factual errors in bold:

"The Dodger's search for a new manager has taken a number of unusual twists and according to General Manager Paul DePodesta, perhaps a dozen or more candidates are still waiting in the wings. The latest candidate, Atlanta's Terry Pendleton, declined an offer to interview, saying he didn't want to leave his native Georgia. Yet he did interview for the Tampa Bay job. Well, that is closer to Atlanta.

So the Dodgers had a manager with a full year left on his contract leave the club to manage Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh?) and a candidate who would rather interview for the Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay?) job than for the Dodger position, once the premier post in the National League.

Which brings one to ask, why would anyone want to take he rudder of a ship that is careening wildly across the National League West without a sail, a compass or a map?

The club dumped Jim Tracy who had been as successful as anyone could possibly be, considering the conditions he had to work under. He apparently would not used the players he was ordered to use (Hee-Seop Choi, Antonio Perez) because of their obvious weaknesses -- Choi didn't hit and Perez could not catch the ball.

Of course, a general manager should be able to build an organization that feels comfortable to him, but the Dodgers have changed GMs as easily as Brittany Spears changes husbands, with the resulting "this is my people" changing right along with them.

So tell me, why would you want to manage a club in such disarray, knowing when (not if) things went south, you would be hung out to dry like Tracy was?

So our five basic candidates are 55-year-old Bobby Valentine, championed by Tom Lasorda in a campaign that has lasted for more than a few years; unknown qualities like Giants bench Ron Wotus and minor leaguer Torey Lovullo; and former major league rejects Terry Collins and Jerry Royster*,*

Pendleton's rapid retreat from the pending interview does not seem too important since it seemed as if he was the obligatory African-American candidate insisted upon by the owner's main man Bud Selig.

If you are really looking for a Black manager, you would give Davey Lopes a call but he's still waiting by the phone.

Dodger fans are salivating in anticipation of Kirk Gibson or perhaps Orel Hershiser -- very darkhorses at best -- taking over the stumbling team. But you can not comprehend either of those strong-minded men signing on to be only a guy in the dugout who plays the lineup sent down from the front office.

Don't mistake what was just said: Both Gibby and Bulldog would be superb in the skippers seat. But, as any good manager must be, each is his own man and would be hard-put to be merely a liaison to the executive suite.

And of course, there is the problem of the team itself.

To improve, the club must spend some money on free agents, an action that the general manager and/or the owner seems loath to do, despite their protestations, or make a trade for the needed parts."

Besides, Ivy League types are keeping Lopes out of the managerial ranks.

There's just too many things to respond to individually, so I'll just do it all in bullet-point form:

- Manny. Boston would probably let a team take him for nothing in return if it meant getting rid of all, or at least nearly all, of his contract. If Drew is worth $11M, isn't Manny worth $18-20? And Manny is durable, which is a must for any potential OF. Honestly, if taking Manny's contract was all we did this offseason, I'd be happy, because I think it would make us contenders.

- I'd be happy with Cruz or Werth at an OF corner if we had at least durable big-time hitter at another spot, which we don't. Cruz must be a free agent, right? I'm not sure a researve OF is worht $4.5M/year, but given Bradley and Drew's healthy history, it might not be a bad idea. I would probably offer him arbitration though. Certainly those two would be the top 4th/5th OF combination in baseball.

- Matsui will get a lot of money, probably 4/50 or so. It might be worth it. He's a great hitter and 100% durable. Besides, as we've all seen with Nomo, a popular Japanese player brings in a lot of money himself, which offsets a lot of the contract cost. I think Ichiro is probably a $20M+ player because of this. So I wouldn't complain if we overpayed for Matsui.

- Giles doesn't excite me. Not exactly a spotless health history with him. Pass.

- Nomar has been rumored to like LA for a while now. We basically need a 1 year solution on the left side of the infield, and he looks to be in line for another 1 year deal, so it seems like a decent fit to me.

- I've already said this before, but if getting Dunn takes a ton of prospects, that's fine with me. IF we can get him without giving up Billingsley and Guzman, do it. LaRoche's stock, in my opinion, if never going to be higher. Throw him and a pitcher at Cinci and see if they bite.

- I think DePo has to seriously consider that we will end up having to trade for a OF that can hit, because I don't see any of the free agents as likely.

How are you saving money when Tory Hunter will make 10.75 mill in 2006, Millwood would cost 10 mill a year and Nomar at least 5-8 million?

According to everything I've ever seen from Lopes, he says he's of entirely European descent. Asking him if he's black or Hispanic is a good way to get your head bitten off.

Of course, asking him the time is also a good way to get your head bitten off.

Just read the article, i wonder what grade little abe yeager got? Really, is anyone even proofreading this stuff;

"Dodger fans are salivating in anticipation of Kirk Gibson or perhaps Orel Hershiser -- very darkhorses at best -- taking over the stumbling team"

If youve ever heard Louis Black's old standup special on Comdedy Central, he talks about stupid statments and how they are the real cause of anyuerisms; he's talking about statements like "very darkhorses at best". wow

Can we please put a moratorium on all light-hitting Twins outfielders? Torii Hunter is a slightly better option than Jacque Jones, which is sort of like saying Celine Dion is a slightly better singer than Michael Bolton.

And Abe guarantees that Gibson and Orel will be great managers, as long as they don't have to listen to their GM.

68 Millwood is on my "don't touch with a ten foot pole" list. (Which, sadly, almost every aviable pitcher is on.) His strikeout, walk, and home run ratios have been pretty constant for the last four years, yet his ERA dropped by two runs this year.

This scares me.

77 Only if we can put a moratorium on references to Celine Dion and Michael Bolton? :)

I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, it doesn't get any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman".

I got about a paragraph into the link and gave up. It's really not even worthy of acknowledgement.

I keep reading that we might contact Kirk Gibson. I guess I always assumed it was because he would be Trammell's choice for a hitting coach and DePo wanted to make sure they would be on the same page. The fact that Gibson keeps coming up tells me that Trammell is among the favorites to get the job. Though I could be wrong.

The Dodgers may have trouble spending that $23 million on free agents, so a large chunk of it may have to go to contracts picked up in trades. vr, Xei

I'd take a flyer on Jason Kubel:)

Why is 23mil all to spend? From most estiamtes Ive seen its from 28 to 33 mil.

Torii Hunter is godlike. He would become the face of the Dodgers, were he to join the squad. He is a joy to watch play the game, and he is almost completely unlike Bradley. He would definitely be the Dodgers Marketing Department's wet dream.

Hunter isnt a must on my list, I thought he'd be cheaper that 10 mil. In that case sign nomar millwood and fight hard for Matsui.

I for one am more-or-less persuaded by Jon's idea that we should give Milton another chance on a one-year deal. However, I wouldn't blame McCourt for burning his bridges there.

Of the potential LF solutions, I think Manny is the best one, assuming that we can really give up very little in return in exchange for taking on most if not all of his salary. If we have that kind of money to spend, then I definitely think we should use it.

As for starters, with the free agent market so thin, I'd be willing to go into April with what we have now and a few bargain veterans, hoping that either a has-been or a prospect pans out. If not, we can always make a move at mid-season--none of the current first-rank options like Burnett or Millwood looks terribly desirable.

WWSH

If I could choose between Manny and Dunn, I'd choose Manny. Unfortunately I don't think the Dodgers will get to make that choice.

Abe and I have the same last name. That makes me sad.

2005 Fun Fact:

Astros Runs/Game: 4.25
Dodgers Runs/Game: 4.23

Astros record when scoring exactly 3 runs: 12-10

Dodgers record when scoring exactly 3 runs: 3-19 (last year 10-9)

2005 fun fact possible explanation:

Number of pitchers on Dodgers comparable to Clemens, Pettite, Oswalt, and Lidge: 1 and only for a few weeks.

86 I'm hoping that was sarcasm. Surely you can't mean the same Torii Hunter who is about to force himself out of Minnesota? The same one who when asked about it replied, "it's just business"?

He is a joy to watch play the game, and he is almost completely unlike Bradley. He would definitely be the Dodgers Marketing Department's wet dream.

While that's probably true, I doubt the purposes of the Dodgers Marketing Department would be suited by signing a bad player to a big contract, thereby increasing the likelihood of a losing season.

86 Except he's worse than Bradley at everything but chemistry. Most good defensive metrics have Torii Hunter as a very overrated outfielder.

Not a very fun fact, indeed.

Wasn't there an injunction placed against the use of the word "indeed" yesterday?

Or was it a TRO? Did a higher court lift it? Did it go all the way up to the Supreme Court because of its extreme Federal significance?

The main reason im happy about Depodesta sitting in the GM chair is that he would never think of acquiring a player like Torii Hunter.

Torii Hunter=Devon White.

Alright I think I got that noone likes Torii hunter here.

I like him okay. I just don't think he's a good baseball player.

Torii Hunter could be in charge of robbing Barry Bonds of home runs hit over the center field fence.

Ultimately, that won't pay off much.

Everybody knows the Twins most valuable outfielder is Shannon Stewart. He would have been the AL MVP twice over in Jayson Stark's world.

The ONLY team Hunter would make sense for is a team like the Yankees that is just desperate for a CF. The Dodgers have an overabundance of guys who can play CF. We need a bat.

If we got Shannon Stewart and kept Jeff Kent, Milton Bradley, and J.D. Drew, we'd have a pretty good start at an all-two-first-names team.

Nomar would certainly throw a wrench in that plan, though.

103- thats almost as funny as the all jason outfield.

I went to college with a guy named Wunsch.

103 Shame to have lost Jim Tracy, though. Maybe Kirk Gibson could stretch himself and fill the gap.

And Oswalt is going to go for alot more dollars, now. Man I wish we could get him in the rotation. I'd stand with the lineup we have if we could just get better pitching. Granted, I'd love to have Oswalt, Milwood (or Byrd) and Manny, but I don't think that it's a huge gamble on the offense that was injury riddled. I still think Valentine has value on the bench. There's alot of time for trading left, too.

It's fun to speculate, but won't the manager come first?

103- Would Hee Sop Choi have 3 first names?

Hee-Seop Choi really just has one first name "Hee-Seop". But that's how he chose to transliterate it.

He could also go by Hee Seop or Heeseop. There isn't a standard.

So sayeth my Korean boss, who just runs both names together in her case.

Only your surname can count as a second first name. Billy Bob Blezkowski, for example, doesn't count.

If we got Shannon Stewart and kept Jeff Kent, Milton Bradley, and J.D. Drew, we'd have a pretty good start at an all-two-first-names team.

Especially if Russell Martin makes the team, as well as Mike Rose and Edwin Jackson as call ups.

I knew a guy named Choi takihyro in high school.

Ive heard Furcal and Garciappara's name mentioned here. I like the idea of bringing in a shortstop that can hit. I love watching Izturis play, but he's useless offensively unless he's hitting .330 and he's not the most durable guy. On a powerhouse team like the Yankees or Red Sox, he could be a usefull regular, but the Dodgers dont have a couple 35hr-100rbi hitters, they need offensive contribution from every position and izturis just isnt going to cut it even when he comes back from TJ surgury.

I would like to throw Julio Lugo's name into the ring if we are talking about replacements at SS. Quietly he had a better offensive season than Furcal and is much more durable than Nomar. Defensively, the metrics claim hes as good as Izturis (above average), but not as good as Furcal, who easily deserves the Gold Glove this year. He's currently the property of Tampa Bay, which is why his performance went under the radar and currently has one team option ($4.95m) year on his contract left before free agency. Now, even though he's been trending upwards the past couple years, its unlikely that he'll match 2005 offensive numbers, but he should come close with something like 285/340/400, huge compared to Izturis or Robles.

I think he adds some speed to the roster and is a good stolen base %'s. Im not saying he's the best option, but considering the risks with the other options (performance-robles, price-furcal, durability-nomar) I think that for the right trade (I'm assuming TB would pick-up his option, but this is TB we're talking bout), he would be nice option. opinions?

Just have to say, that I'm rooting for the Astro's at this point because Garner went to my High School. I can't remember if he came and gave a talk there, or at UT, but I liked him because he was quick with all our witty (at the time, these were baseball players) cutups, laughed easy, and still laser beamed onto fundamental mistakes and knew all kinds of stuff.

It's funny. Somtimes he seems dumb from the way he is covered in the media, but he most certainly wasn't to me back then. Of course, this would have been in the '80s. And all I need to do for prespective is look at a picture of myself. :-)

"I would like to throw Julio Lugo's name"
--------

Speaking of Marketing Department Wet Dreams

Presenting the Domestic Violence all-stars!

Leading off and playing shortsop, Julio Lugo!
Batting second and playing center field, Milton Bradley!
The starting pitcher, warming up in the bullpen, Scott Erickson!

In Lugo's case the charge is not in dispute, either. As I recall, he slammed his wife's head into her car hood in front of witnesses.

Ozzie Guillen could be smart, but as far as I can tell, he's unintelligble in two languages.

However, Venezuelan Spanish is really hard for me to pick up. There was a Venezuelan woman I worked with here and when she would go into Spanish, I felt like I was getting hit by a torrent of words. And I think Guillen is probably from a much different economic class than the woman I worked with.

As much as I want a big-hitting SS/3B, I don't think we can tie ourselves up with any non-elite players at either position. Our farm system has zero good outfielders and tons of good infielders. So unless we trade some of Guzman/LaRoche/Aybar/Young I doubt that we'll need to get any infielders for more than a 1 year solution.

Wotus said before he was interviewed. "The Dodgers are like the Giants in that they are built to win now. Their focus is to win the division. The Dodgers are a premier organization."

This is from the previous thread. I understand Wotus has a thin line to walk, but isn't this exactly wrong. The Giants and their AARP line-up are built to win now. We have more of a "still in diapers" line-up which although may contend in an awful division, is still two years away.

WOTUS

It really bothers me that I can't come up with a good acronym based on the POTUS/FLOTUS used for the president and first lady. There just aren't enough words that start with 'W', I guess. So for that reason alone, he's got a strike against him in my book.

Is it petty of me to want the Astros to sweep the White Sox so that none of my idiot neighbors sets off fireworks to wake up sons and keep them up until after midnight, like they did after the ALCS?

120 No less petty than me cheering for the Astros simply because I spent the past 5 months trying to convince the only White Sox fan I know that the team isn't for real. Whoops.

I think my preseason prediction for the White Sox was "the best team in a bad division. However, since they are the anti-Braves, they'll find a way to screw things up."

I'm rooting for the Astros in honor of J.R. Richards and because they are the national league. But, if the Sox win, I'll be happy for a close friend who grew up as a Sox fan in the '50s

Delayed response here, in kind, but wanted to say I'm sorry in retrospect that you folks read that Scout.com "piece" I linked too earlier. I really should have added even more disclaimers - besides the Davey Lopes thing - like, don't read while eating, or after eating, or at all, really, because you will just get extremely queasy, and irked, etc. It does seem a practical joke, that's the only possible explanation for something so beyond-poorly written. I've read a few other Scout pieces on Yahoo, that were not just poorly edited, they seemed not edited at all.

Which, as a web content editor myself, causes me to furrow my brow so much I'm temporarily blinded.

Anyway...
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the CF-desperate Yanks make a move for Hunter, too. We should stay out of those stakes. Bradley or whoever, and Drew, and then we just need one more real solid LF and we're okay, I think.

Uh, can we get Beltre back (along with Wallach?) Maybe Wallach can play 3rd if needed.

Oh, never mind.

Just to add to this whole line up thing. Think about anybody remotely better than those that were (or were not) getting on-base for Kent. Maybe Xei could run some of his simulations!

120 - yes

119 - Has anybody explored the Lotus Flower direction for good ol' Ron?

Wittle Wonnie Wotus Fwower?

WWWF??

Who would Weaver... ah, never mind.

127 - heh heh

124 -- Out of curiosity, I went to scout.com. The front page looks pretty clean, and it says they are associated with foxsports.com and MSN. I sent them an e-mail telling them to hire some fact checkers and copyeditors, because that article was out of control. I know it won't make a difference, but it made me feel better.

Also, when I went to Vero Beach this year I picked up this Dodger newspaper -- I forget the name, but the articles in it were equally awful in terms of content and style. It wouldn't shock me a bit if scout.com was just publishing their content.

The famous (infamous?) Tot Holmes is, I believe, associated with Scout.com.

My dad actually has a subscription to their site and reads their Dodger articles, which he sends me sometimes. They're horribly, horribly written and edited, but they also have by far the best coverage of Dodger minor leaguers out there -- far more extensive than even Baseball America.

For example, a few weeks ago they had an article listing all the Dodger players who were sent to Fall Instructional League and the specific aspect of the game that each player was supposed to work on.

They also have lots of feature articles on minor league players, so if you want to know everything there is to know about, say, Trayvon Robinson or Sergio Pedroza, that's the place to go.

None of this, of course, mitigates the poor excuse for journalism that is the Yeager article. Nor does it excuse their consistently sloppy writing and editing. But the site is not useless.

Is it petty of me to want the Astros to sweep the White Sox so that none of my idiot neighbors sets off fireworks to wake up sons and keep them up until after midnight, like they did after the ALCS?

No more so than me wanting the Sox to lose because Guillen practices Santeria. Blecch.

Yeah, well, still. Presumably Scout.com is a commercial enterprise, you'd think they'd put a bit of work into cleaning things up a bit. Especially if it's going to reach a wide audience via Yahoo or whatever.

"No more so than me wanting the Sox to lose because Guillen practices Santeria."
--------

Hey, I like this game. Do I get to root against Phil Garner because he's a Southern Baptist?

131 - That's like saying, I root against Shawn Green because he practices Judaism! Blegh!

I don't know if petty if the right word for it though.

That was the first time the name Abe Yeager was used to write an article on scout.com. Tot Holmes and Bill Shelley do most of it. It's a good site for reading about the minors, pretty much everything Eric said

FYI - Ray Miller is now available as pitching coach with Mazzone taking over in Baltimore.
He made a terrible manager but has always been well-respected as a pitching coach.

119 Wizard of the United States? As one might have if Harry Potter was non-fiction.

Or, if you're Henry Kissinger: Weltanschaung of the United States?

And wasn't W's father once regarded as the Wimp of the United States?

50 I'm not dying to trade Dioner Navarro. He's one of the few bright spots to emerge in 2005. But, gotta admit, his market value could not be higher right now. If you see '06 as a rebuilding year, you might be surprised what Navarro could get you. A young catcher, low priced, somewhat proven? There are not many of those. And, if we're contending in '06, a lot of these (can I say this?) wet dream players you guys are wishing for, could be pried loose in return for a Navarro.

70 Davey Lopes' ethnicity seems to change a lot depending upon when you ask him.

Davey Lopes is the "son of an Irish mother and Cape Verdean father," according to this article from the Providence Journal (you may need to register to read it, or use bugmenot).

http://tinyurl.com/9aomx

"By Abe Yeager
Guest Editorial"

Guest editorial? Who IS he and why is he worthy of a guest editorial? Maybe "Abe Yeager" is the internet version of "Alan Smithee."

139. and co. I was thinking the same thing! It's gotta be a nom de plume, or nom de net, or nom de dumb, or whatever. I'd take my name off that thing, too.

What Eric E said is true, it's why I've read them in the past - they do give a lot of coverage to minor leaguers (more than we probably need, but still), so it has value. Still, their editing is quite lazy. Maybe a few less minor leaguers covered (do we need to know all about the backup catcher in Ogden?) for a bit more care?

I always loved the irony of "An Alan Smithee Film/Burn, Hollywood, Burn" becoming an Alan Smithee film because the real director, like the one in the movie, took his name off the film.

Abe Yeager was the name of a character portrayed by Stuart Margolin on an episode of "The Virginian" in 1968.

http://tinyurl.com/dncmr

The only other reference on Google to an Abe Yeager is on a site some family has set up to highlight the doings of their toddler. This toddler, who lives in Washington, D.C., has a little friend named Abe Yeager. Perhaps he wrote the column.

138 - This article, fourth sentence down, claims he's African American. It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/apr02/36688.asp

141 - That's Angel, right?

Angel In Rockford Files? Same guy.

143 - You bet.

During the Rockford Files era, Margolin was in this movie based on the Harry Kemelman novel - they filmed a lot of it on my street.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074772/

Margolin was in another little-seen TV series with Garner called "Nichols". I remember liking it, but don't remember much else.

Wasn't he also in about every other episode of "Love American Style"? I haven't looked at IMDB, I'm just going on memory. Sometimes he was a guy who was an "uptight" square, and other times he was sort of a hippie.

147 Great, now I've got the Love American Style song in my head.

I checked. I was right. He was in about five episodes.

Now I'll drive Marty completely insane. He was also in:

"That Girl"
"Bewitched"
"The Monkees"
"MASH"

Now you're in theme song hell.

148-Good thing I have no Idea what song that is.The only song stuck in my head is the its a beautiful day for a ball game song, whats really sad is I dont know all the lyrics.

It's a beautiful day for a ballgame
For a ballgame today
The fans are out to buy a ticket or two
From Walla Walla Washington to Kalamazoo

It's a beautiful day for a home run
Or even a triple's OK
We're gonna cheer and boo
And raise a hullabaloo
At the ballgame today!

151- Thanks for clearing all that up for me, but I think I liked my random gibberish version better.

Rockford Files. First Season. Dec. 6. I think it's a holiday.

No big mystery about Davey Lopes' ethnicity. Lopes is from East Providence, which has a large Cape Verdean community. My friend, who's from Providence and is of Cape Verdean descent considers herself African-American. But most Cape Verdeans are descended from both Portugese and Africans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde

And WHAT exactly is so bad about the theme from "The Monkees"?

Besides, nothing can possibly be as bad as the theme from "The Love Boat", which undoubtedly Margolin also guested on.

Favorite TV Themes:

Peter Gunn
Honeymooners
Get Smart
Simpsons
Branded (!)

156 - Rockford Files
Hill Street Blues
SWAT

150

Love, American Style,
Truer than the Red, White and Blue.
Love, American Style,
That's me and you.

And on a star spangled night my love, (My love come to me).
You can rest you head on my shoulder.
Out by the dawn's early light, my love
I will defend your right to try.

Love, American Style,
That's me and you.

Hawaii Five 0
Mission Impossible
Combat
A-Team

What's Happenin?

156
The Prisoner - Opening Theme
The Virginian (Ennio Morricone version)
Maverick (original version)
Thunderbirds
Ghost and Mrs. Muir

and Welcome Back Kotter

161 - Sanford and Son, with Welcome Back Kotter a distant second

Gilligan's Island, the original "and the rest" version.

Marty mentioned "Branded." He's a genius. My brothers and I watched that show primarily because of the theme song:

Branded!
Something something something something
What do you do if you're branded,
And you know you're a man!

I would also add:

Here Come the Brides
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Darren McGavin version, not the new one)

All but one man died.
There at Bitter Creek.
And they say he ran away.

Branded, scorned as the one who ran.
What do you do when you're branded, and you know you're a man.

Wherever you go, for the rest of your life
You must prove, you're a man.

Full song (the above is the abbreviated TV version):

All but one man died,
There at Bitter Creek,
And they say he ran away ...

Branded!
Marked with a coward's shame.
What do you do when you're branded,
Well, you fight for your name?

He was innocent,
Not a charge was true,
But the world will never know ...

Branded!
Scorned as the one who ran.
What do you do when you're branded,
And you know you're a man?

And wherever you go
for the rest of your life
You must prove ...
You're a man!

"What's Happening?"

Least Favorite:
Three's Company (by a wide margin)
Love American Style
L.A. Law
Mr. Ed

164/166 Branded- All time best opening shot for a show, with Chuck Connors'Cavalry uniform ripped off, and his sword broken in two!!

164 169 My brother and I watched it for the same reason! We were always dumbfounded that the show generally sucked otherwise. This was also right after the huge success of the Rifleman, which made it even more frustrating.

It's official, the inmates are running the asylum here :)

Nate, Hobos, where are you guys? I've gotta nominate "Guts", "Ren & Stimpy" and "Rocko's Modern Life" here, speak out against all these oldies!

It's official, the inmates are running the asylum here

Pretty much the definition of Blog :)

171 Well, not really. Chuck Connors, star of "Branded," played for the Dodgers. He had one at-bat for them. This is all highly relevant as we consider who should be on the bench for '06, and what kind of legacy they have to live up to.

Chuck Connors hangs out near my mom nowadays.

Fire Stuart Townsend!

I'm giving the new "Night Stalker" a chance. I'm not used to seeing a show with that name with good production values.

I miss Simon Oakland yelling at Darren McGavin.

Simon Oakland should have gotten a special Academy Award for "Psycho" as "Best Actor to have to stand up and do all the plot exposition at the end of the movie so we could figure out what we just saw."

Oh well, some actual baseball news. Your 2005 World Series umpires are:

http://tinyurl.com/7kk8a

Connors lifetime OPS-- .582. One game for Brooklyn, 66 games for the Cubs.

I finally watched the weird remake of Psycho, word for word. Robert Forrester gave the Simon Oakland monologue.

I see we've moved on to television theme songs. I will come back in a few hours. :)
vr, Xei

Earlier this week on the Game Show Network, they were showing a 1959 rerun of "What's My Line?". Chuck Connors was one of the panelists and Branch Rickey was one of the contestants (but not the mystery guest). Rickey's occupation was "President of the Continental Baseball League". Rickey said the third league was a certainty.

Connors couldn't pick out Rickey's voice (they were blindfolded), but he did acknowledge that Rickey signed him. Bennett Cerf guessed right. I think Rickey got $40. Knowing Rickey, he was sure to keep the $40.

On Connor's grave at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, there is a picture of him as "The Rifleman" along with logos for the Cubs, Dodgers, and Celtics.

176 -- uggh. Don't.

Cowboy Joe West is the crew chief! Woo hoo! Enders is going to be one angry dude.

Lee Marvin making Simon Oakland bark in "Emporer of the North" is pretty good too.

177-- Other great Simon Oakland moment was as Steve McQueen's boss in Bullitt.

178-- More Chuck Connors trivia; besides his brief MLB career,time with the PCL Angels,and brief NBA career, Connors acted as unofficial go-between when Drysdale/Koufax ended their spring '66 holdout.

A sports auction house just held an auction of memorabilia from Connors' estate. Among the items available were a couple of his Winchesters from the Rifleman.

How many umpires are nicknamed "Cowboy"?

Didn't Cowboy Bob Davidson call the game where Dodgers fans threw all those baseballs on the field?

All I know is that Vin always says "Cowboy Joe West".

I don't know if he's able to say "Joe West" without saying "Cowboy" before it.

So when the W.S. moves to Houston, does Carl Everett sit? vr, Xei

187 Well, you can't sit the A.L. MVP, Scott Podsednik, if that's what you're thinking.

Theme Song . . . (take cover, Xei!)

Barney Miller (can't believe noone said it yet)
Rockford Files
Laverne and Shirley

(Scrubs is good too -- impressive to squeeze the theme into 15 seconds or whatever it is)

Yes, no DH in Houston. Everett would likely be the only respectable pinch hitter for the White Sox.

Those backups on the Sox are really bad: Willie Harris, Pablo Ozuna, Timo Perez, Chris Widger....

189 - If you get the Scrubs DVD, you can hear the longer version over and over.

I actually like the theme for the U.S. version of The Office - a show that I love, by the way. Sorry, I know it sounds impossible or heretical, but I do think it's funnier than the original.