dons tin foil

It is a catch 22 for some Dodger fans. If the clock is indeed ticking on Ned, would we be better served if 2008 was a replication of 2007 and he gets canned, or we find out that we can win in spite of Ned and we are forced to suffer his reign for many years, where we win just enough to satisfy the McCourts while bemoaning his moves?

From what I understand about Furcal's ankle, the only thing they could have done was just shut him down at some point during the season and since it is believed that he will fully recover during the off-season, a decision was made that an 80% of Furcal was better than 100% of someone in the system.

Ned walked into a great situation and he will get to ride it out.

your article expressed a lot of what has been said here recently. thanks, jon.

But when it comes to outfielders (and 1B), that wasn't the case. He continually flip-flopped between aging mediocrity and impressive young talent.

Keith Law: (1:07 PM ET ) Yes, I believe it did cost them a playoff berth. But you have to split the blame between Little and Ned Colletti. And I'd put more blame on the guy who actually signed Pierre and re-signed Nomar.

I don't see a philosophy with Grady

(enter cliche re: hindsight)

a lesson to be learned from the whole Little-Pedro Martinez incident is that Little defers to the "stars"...not that Gonzo or Nomar or Kent now are at that level, but that is Little's inclination

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/264872.html

2007 .257/.323/.428 .751
Career .262/.334/.420 .754

I am not using to defend Juan Pierre but we all knew what he was and he pretty much performed as we thought he would so you can argue about his value but Gary Matthews Jr., is 3 years older and also has a contract for 4 more years at higher money and a full no-trade through 2009.

Does winning excuse the signing?

So I guess Eric Enders (Stephan?) had it right.

I won't be here for the game chat (appointment) but I'll be wearing my lucky white DT shirt, I really feel we need a victory today, hopefully it will help the MOJO PUSH.

I would say the other side of the Diamond is what excuses it....

Q: Ryan from Los Angeles, CA asks:
I'm very surprised Withrow didn't make the top 20.

A: Chris Kline: Yeah . . . nine innings just isn't going to get it done though. I was disappointed I didn't get to write him up, especially after he sat 92-94 mph with his fastball in the playoffs and lit up 98 several times.

I'd have preferred Matthews this off season, only because he fit more of the Dodgers' needs than Pierre. But not for what either of the guys were signed for.

http://tinyurl.com/2acvfo

Dave Littlefield sold Matthews in 2001. I have never seen anyone seriously try to claim this was a bad move.

But after Game 3 of the NLDS last year, I was one of few left in the manager's office when Grady was asked a question about the performance of James Loney (he went 3 for 4) and what that meant for 2007. His answer (though I don't recall the exact words) was something along the lines of "I think someone's going to have to get out of the way so he can play."

I was a bit shocked at the time because it was unusually candid and a sure sign of what he felt the future of first base would be.

Needless to say, Grady's handling of the first base situation, among countless others, has been baffling.

I'm not sure who the real Grady is. Is he the guy that spoke so confidently last October about the immediate future of one of his young studs? Or is he the guy that held back that same stud (and several of his peers) this season?

Did he simply change his mind? Or are his hands tied by his superiors? I don't know.

I do know that was another excellent column, Jon.

Nick Eustrom from West Hills, CA asks:
Alfredo Silverio hit .373 on the season with a .950 OPS. What's his story, and why didn't he make the list?

A: Chris Kline: Baez and Lambo have more upside despite the numbers. Silverio is an average runner relegated to a corner OF spot, and his bat is going to have to continue to speak as he moves up. Regardless of how well he hit in the GCL, there are questions about his offensive ceiling. He pulls everything and struggles with balls soft away.

.847 (2nd to last)
.850 (2nd to last)

RZR (which gives more credit to rangy outfielders)

.894 (15th out of 21)
.850 (last)

(whew)

They all know me in there as the token Dodger fan, so I've been heaped with abuse lately re: Drew, Lugo, Gagne. My usual response (karmic retribution for Dave Roberts) is starting to wear as thin as the Sawx' shrinking lead in the AL East.

Q: Steve from Chatsworth, ca asks:
Wow! What a year out of Lambo! He must be for real! How is it that he is ranked higher than Mesoraco, Ahrens, Lotzgar all 1st rounders? Has he now shown that the 4th round was a mistake?

A: Chris Kline: It's still early, and Lambo needs to keep it together off the field, but the swing is legit. He's going to hit--he might rack up a lot of fines, maybe a few suspensions as he moves up the ladder, but he'll do it in the middle of the order while driving in a ton of runs. This is a guy who's a little off-center, but that sometimes plays into his advantage. He wants to be out there with the game on the line, he never stops talking, and he wants to win.

Sign me up:)

That seems like a pretty reasonable amount for a rookie even a very good one.

I liked the info about Baez's defense. At this point we can only count on the scouts for defensive information. BA said he was the best defensive 3b in the league, with the best arm.

Not assessing blame. Just wondering how things fit together.

In the West Valley we've heard plenty about the hijinks that Lambo did, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a high strung kid in high school. The pre-game interviews that they talked about are something else entirely but I guess we might be lucky he seemed immature since he dropped to the 4th round. Or we might not be.

Ed Wade? It sort of stretches the limits of credulity that a team which seriously considered somebody like Logan White actually ended up hiring Ed Wade.

But at least we can write off the Astros for the next five years.

But when Loney arrived, he played, and now he is settled in.

Seriously, Wade is a horrible pick, although I suppose that if he learned anything from Towers et al in San Diego about reliever acquisition, he could at least be slightly below average.

I suppose it's possible he'd consider hiring Kim Ng to be media friendly, and so feasible. But really I think neither Ned nor Grady will go anywhere this offseason. So we'd best hope for excellent fortune.

It seems to me that Grady might be conflicted. Based on the words I heard from him, he played a guy at first base for half of the season not because he thinks he's best option but because that was the hand dealt to him by the GM.

Maybe he also feels obligated to play a guy in center field because the GM made such a long commitment to him? Maybe he feels obligated to play a guy in left field because the GM made a financial commitment to him? Maybe he felt obligated to keep certain guys in the fourth and fifth starter spots because the GM made a big trade or signing to get him?

Heck, by the end of this thread the Astros will probably be contracted.

Although I would expect the Pirates to concentrate more on guys like Woodfork and LaCava, who are likely capable GMs and have connections to the team.

McLane just wanted a yes-man. The fact that he even interviewed Wade or Beattie showed that he had no interest in competency.

The difference is Tracy was putting a weak hitting catcher at 1st instead of Choi/Tomato

To deny this possibility is essentially to say that, if Kemp were the one with the 5-year $44 million contract and Pierre the one making the league minimum, Pierre still would have started everyday and Kemp would still have been a AAA/platoon player.

He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. If he plays poorly, he'll be thought of as a guy who can't play. If he plays well the rest of the year, he'll be thought of as a guy who can play well in garbage time but choked up when the pennant was on the line, a reputation that could follow him the rest of his career, as reputations often do. Either way, he'll have a significant black mark on his record going into 2008, at least as far as mgmt and most fans are concerned.

My concern is that Little and Colletti are on the same page and, if so, will lead to mediocrity for years to come.

My other concern is that McCourt isnt smart enough to see this.

Frank has really put himself in a corner with the way he handled the Tracy/Depo situation so I dont expect much change in Dodger management.

Which brings me to something else -- Jon, in his fabulous article, chose not to mention one of my main beefs regarding the Dodgers' 2007 season -- the misuse of Jonathan Meloan. First Colletti refused to call him up and then Grady refused to use him, a stubbornness that has perhaps cost the team dearly.

More like out of the frying pan and straight into the depths of hell.

I don't think it's nearly as complicated as that. If Nomar struggles and Andy has a good spring it would not surprise me in the least to see AR starting at 3b to open the season, especially after Nomar's horrid 2007. Barring a FA signing of course.

If Andy plays well in April, I think his first year struggles will be forgotten.

These are a lot of "if's" though.

I guess he could get in if the starter doesn't make it to the 5th