Anyone else find it kind of funny that Nomar has a "normal offseason rehab" program?

Here's hoping that this isn't the smoke blowing we've seen the last couple of years and that the guys are all ready to go in a couple of months.

It will be interesting if a 21-year-old Bryan Morris can reassert his prospect status in 2008. I certainly hope so.

While I agree with everything Eric said 1/2 of me says I'd still trade Kershaw for either Johan or Miggy. Not because I don't think Kershaw will pan out but because I'd rather see Johan pitching his age 29-36 seasons or Miggy hitting his age 25-30 seasons with the Dodgers then Kershaw's 20-25 seasons. The other 1/2 of me wants to watch Logans Army of Loney, LaRoche, Kemp, Martin, Hu, Billingsley, Elbert, McDonald, Meloan, lead by Colonel Kershaw knock the snot out the beasts from the East.

The part I love about Santana is this:
December 13, 1999: Drafted by the Florida Marlins from the Houston Astros in the 1999 rule 5 draft.
Ranks, right up there with D4P.

3 - Am I an idiot? I didn't know that at all. I always assumed he was original Twins property.

3
And then he was traded by Florida for Jared Camp!!

Colonel Kershaw is a great nickname.

4
If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all.

5 ... of Logan's Heroes?

I knew he was a rule five draftee, I didn't remember that the Twins weren't the drafting team.

4
Nope, I'd love to know the name of the long forgotten stiff that the Astro's felt they needed to protect on the 40 man instead of Johan.

The draft & trade from Houston shenanigans of Johan have by now surpassed the clubhouse leader in that department:

11/18/97: Tampa Bay drafts Bobby Abreu from Houston with the 6th pick in the expansion draft, then trades him to Philly for Kevin Stocker.

8
The Twins were in on him as it was a draft day deal. Kind of like the Josh Hamilton deal last year where the Cubs drafted him and then sold him to the Reds. I guess the Cubs felt they had to have CLiff FLoyd on the roster.

10
How can they be surpassed when the TB deal was before the Astro deal?

Besides the baseball God was just getting back at the Astro's for Jeff Bagwell.

12
I meant Houston losing Abreu was bad enough, but losing Santana (2 years later) was worse.

It more than makes up for losing Big Papi to the rule five, but imagine how good the Twins might have been if they hadn't. . .

14
I thought Big Papi was just non-tendered, Alex Cora style. Same principle though.

Oops, have I got that wrong? I thought Ortiz had been rule fived, but bb-ref says he was just released.

They didn't lose Big Papi to the rule 5, they just non-tendered him because they were cheap.... and had no clue what they had even though every roto player in the country was screaming, play him you idiots, play him.

16
After his first arbitration year (2002), the Twins non-tendered Ortiz, and he signed as a FA with Boston.

His contracts have been very "club friendly" for the Sox, too.

I still feel that if HSC had been given the chance that Boston gave Ortiz that he would have had a chance at a Ortiz light career. I'll take that thought to my grave and only the devil will be able to pry it from my mind.

Well, there you go.

I got a form email from Baseball-Reference, today, saying their application for press credentials to the Winter Meetings had been rejected. I can't decide whom to pester about this. I could send a barely lucid email to whatever general MLBAM email address I find. But that sounds like more work than I'm willing to do, even though I do find it outrageous. But I was thinking, isn't this something that somebody else could do? Bob? You like quixotic battles.

13
Gotcha - I'm a little slow.

2

That's the guy I'm looking out for this '08 season & to be honest I don't know were he'll end up (A-Ball or Jax) but for some reason I'm excited about 'em.

Tony Jackson on his BA gig says that Andy Laroche's stock has risen.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/features/265265.html

14 ,15

I thought the Twins just gave up on him...

20
MLBAM doesn't give out the credentials. It's MLB.

20 I went to the meetings in Anaheim a few years ago without a press pass, and it didn't really seem like a pass had much benefit besides getting you into the room with all the computer hookups, and the occasional press conference. All the action is in the lobby, anyway.

23 Would you mind copy/pasting his comments?

25, 26- I appreciate you're trying to talk me off the ledge, but I swear MLBAM will suffer for this indignity, with which they evidently had nothing to do. Where's that GameDay blog, again? I'm going to go leave a scathing comment there.

28- Done. I feel like I really made a difference.

Eek. "Your trying. . ."

28 It's for the best, I swear!

http://thejuice.baseballtoaster.com/archives/16728.html

Jackson's Baseball America article says that there is a strong chance that LaRoche will be the Dodgers' opening day third baseman, but he will have to perform well in spring training to "seal the deal." Jackson also says that Delwyn Young is probably going to be the Dodgers' fourth outfielder, something we are all expecting but it was nice to see it in black and white.

The thing about LaRoche having to perform well in spring training is that Logan White has said that LaRoche has ALWAYS looked bad in spring training, even when it was just minor league spring training. Some guys are slow to get their act together in March, and that is true of many career major leaguers too. Obviously it's a much bigger problem for a guy who isn't already a PROVEN major leaguer and is expected to earn his MLB job in the spring.

It will be interesting if a 21-year-old Bryan Morris can reassert his prospect status in 2008. I certainly hope so.

Definitely. Like every other first round Logan White pitcher, Morris had nasty, nasty stuff. If that comes back, we are looking at another top 50 prospect.

I was so ecstatic when we drafted him since I really wanted him in the previous year's draft.

Diamond Leung:

"The Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to any of their free agents. Luis Gonzalez was a Type B free agent and if offered arbitration and signed elsewhere, would have garnered the Dodgers a compensatory draft pick. Then again, you run the risk of Gonzalez accepting arbitration."

34

Then you tell him he is a PH if he comes back and will play once a week.

simple.

The AP corrected their Oregon-K State game story:

http://tinyurl.com/23gjqj

Oh man, that Milledge thread over at BTF is 500 comment of basically Mets mass suicide.

Hehehe.

I wonder how SAM DC feels about that trade.

38
Sam DC is on a top secret mission behind enemy lines.

Does MLB still have the rule that if a FA isn't offered arbitration, he can't sign with hi previous team until May 1 of the following year?

So, essentially Mark Sweeney & Mike Lieberthal are gone unless they re-sign by midnight tonight (or sometime tomorrow, whenever the actual deadline is)?

40
And Randy Wolf too for that matter.

I hope we keep LaRoche and he becomes our starting 3B next year, but I doubt he will be the starter out of spring training unless he really rakes while Nomar tanks. It seems that whenever prospects are anointed with a starting job out of ST they tend to struggle. Edwin Jackson was anointed as 5th starter a few years ago, Joe Thurston was anointed 2B a few years ago, Wilson Betemit was anointed 3B last year, and they all struggled (though Betemit started to rebound before he was traded). It appears that Andy will have to wait for Nomar to hurt himself or struggle before he's promoted, just as Kemp & Loney did last year, and Martin & Ethier in '05.
I don't think it matters as much how LaRoche does in ST as it does for Nomar, just as Loney raked in ST and was passed over because it was Nomar's position to lose.

I'm not necssarily advocating this approach, just stating it as my hunch. I don't think LaRoche will be promoted until he's on a hot streak at Vegas, but certainly before the all-star break.

40 - No, they changed that rule last winter after my complaining about it.

40

I think they did away with that rule with the new CBA.

43 You're a powerful man.

43
Thanks. I hate to use this example, but that was a main reason the Dodgers didn't re-sign Lima after 2004, correct?

Real cool booing Derek Fisher every time he touches the ball, Jazz fans.

45 - Since childhood, Bud Selig has had an irrational fear of Olympic nerds.

46 - Check the archives :)

47 - yup, how dare a guy leave Utah for a city like LA because his 2 year old kid has cancer? I mean, the nerve of the guy...

Meanwhile, the Lakers are looking like a team that played a full game yesterday, rather than just half a game.

42 - I wonder if there's any analysis as to how young guys perform when they're anointed and when they have to kick the door down... Philosophically, I get the case for both sides, and I'm not quite sure which one I'm wanting to buy into.

Also, completely unrelated to anything else, Mr T doing World of Warcraft commercials is rather funny.

50

I saw the same commercial. Mr T's still got it. I love anything with Mr T in it.

Going back to Derek Fisher for a moment, it's not as if I needed extra reasons to hate the Jazz and their fans. What an absolutely poor display of sportsmanship, given the circumstances. Jazz fans should be ashamed of themselves for what they did at tipoff.

Steve Nash just missed a free throw, snapping a string of 74 straight makes, dating back to last season.

Nash is a career 89.85% free throw shooter, the 2nd highest percentage (Mark Price, 90.39%).

I stand corrected. Rick Barry has the 2nd highest FT% in NBA history (89.98%), but with his ABA numbers factored in, his total percentage is 89.31% which puts him behind Nash.

Not a good first half for the Lake Show. Giving up 70 to a non=Phoenix team???

54

Now that was bad wasn't it? I hope the Lakers are ready for Phil Jackson's "halftime show".

--

I'm looking forward to winter meetings this year. It feels like just yesterday when the World Series ended. I'm looking forward to seeing somebody else sign Rowand. If the Dodgers don't get him... who else would be interested in his "ability to play the game?"

I'm not a fan of the ESPN Lou Holtz pep talks. They rank right up there with the fake MLB press conferences for me.

54
I think the White Sox would welcome Rowand back.

56
If Lou Holtz gave a phony pep talk for UCLA, it would be really weird. It would be so unlike what the players really hear.

Not to be too nitpicky, but... In the previous thread where Kevin Brown was discussed, it was mentioned that he was traded for Jeff Weaver and that when Weaver left as a type-A FA, the draft pick compensation became "First-round picks Chris Withrow and James Adkins, both of whom have shown promise thus far". I believe the compensation for Weaver was in the 2006 draft, yielding Preston Mattingly and Byron Morris, the latter of whom ties this comment neatly to this topic as well.

Also, the ultimate cost was less than $105M (Brown's infamous contract) since the Yankees paid Brown's last two years, around $31.5M, the Dodgers paid for Weaver instead, around $18.7M, but the Yanks also threw $3M into the deal! So that previously documented haul actually cost approximately 105-31.5+18.7-3 = $89.2M.

Here's a Padres' arbitration roundup:

Type A
-Michael Barrett: will offer arb; likely to accept a 1 yr/$4m deal)
-Milton Bradley: likely will not offer arb

Type B
-Doug Brocail: signed with Astros
-Mike Cameron: will offer arb; likely to decline

So if Bradley & Cameron sign elsewhere, the Padres will likely net an extra 1st round draft pick and three "sandwich" picks between the 1st & 2nd rounds, giving them 5 of the first 50-60 picks of the draft.

The Padres also had 6 of the first 64 picks of the 2007 draft, and 4 of the first 61 pick in 2006.

60
I'm watching Milton Bradley's alma mater in the CIF Pac-5 semifinals. The Jackrabbits lead Orange Lutheran 2-0 in the 2nd quarter.

60

If you said Bradley wont likely be offered arb, why would the Padres get anything if he signs elsewhere?

61 Only a saftey, field goal, TD, and 2-pt conversion from the Timmermann ideal tally.

62
That would require me to pay attention as I type! :)

The Padres will most likely just get the 2 sandwich picks then. Yay!

Winnipeg's line score in the Grey Cup:
3, 4, 7, 5.

The Blue Bombers lost 23-19.

Other NL West arbitration notes:

D-Backs
Will offer arbitration to Livan Hernandez, a Type B who will likely sign elsewhere
(sandwich pick for AZ)

Rockies
Have already signed Type B Yorvit; will not offer arb to Type B Jorge Julio
(no picks for Col)

Giants
Sabean is tight-lipped, but will almost certainly not offer arb to Bonds, but will likely offer arb to Type B Pedro Feliz. Contract talks are ongoing with Feliz
(sandwich pick if Feliz signs elsewhere)

I should note, all sources for 60 & 66 were the individual team pages on MLB.com.

When do we find out if Hendrickson returns? I'm available to help him move, this weekend. Call me!

As is typical during this time of year, I find myself annoyed by the Dodgers' lack of effort in attempting to secure big name talent, or the mythical "big bat" that we have been striving for on offense. I watch names like ARod (for 0.1 seconds), Santana, Cabrera, Hunter, or A. Jones fly around as purportedly "wondrous" alternatives for rectifying perceived failures in our current lineup. Then I watch -- somewhat enviously -- as the Yankees and Red Sox continue to characteristically and outrageously outbid one another in an effort to overpay for "talent." With that said, it's definitely frustrating to see the Dodgers appear to display an impetus for high profile monetary investment, hire a "championship-caliber" manager, and then ultimately proclaim the need to stay the course with a youth movement. But as frustrating as it seems to me, I guess I'm fine with all of that. I love our young players, so fine, let them flourish. Let's see what a full season of at-bats gets you out of Loney and Kemp. But I guess I'd rather McCourt eradicate the candy-coated veneer that's used so often to bait his fanbase and, instead, call a spade a spade. He'd earn more respect from his Dodger constituency. The truth of the matter is that he's not going to pay like the AL east dynastic teams. He's not going to "do whatever it takes," as he always seems to say while smiling like a Bostonian gopher donning a silk handkerchief. The reality is that the Dodgers are in the National League West. Our path of greatest resistance like San Diego, Arizona, S.F., et al., pales miserably in comparison with what the Yanks and Red Sox have to deal with among themselves, and among the AL squads in general. So, I guess a big "whatever" is in order. I'd love to see the Dodgers become the filet of the National League, but at the end of the day, given the standard of competition in the NL, what's the point? So, fine -- let's go, start the season, "now batting for the Dodgers, center fielder, Juan Pierre." SIGH.

Man, reading Eric Enders on the last thread, he was on his A-Game.

Sascha V might be the worst player in the NBA.

Amazing, or sad (better word), that Phil has kept him around this long.

68
December 12 seems like the drop dead date, the last day to tender contracts to players.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/important_dates.jsp

Great News from Stan Conte on the injury reports. A lot good men on that list. Let's go you guys we're waiting for you.

I'm not a big Sasha V fan either, but I think your summation of him is a little extreme. And he did score 22 points the night before. I think Phil likes his outside shooting and defense? Hard to know. I'm not a big fan as I said, but he's not quite that bad...

61 My alma matter got blown out by Hart earlier tonight. But I'm still happy with the Marmonte League title.

I'm curious as to what the majority opinion will be here on the idea of the Dodgers selecting former highly-touted Yankee prospect Eric Duncan in the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Below are some choice excerpts that I find of particular interest:

"Perhaps the most unusual scenario was just how close top prospect, Eric Duncan came to wearing Dodger blue...in a nutshell, Duncan will continue to play third base in 2005, but will also continue to work on his skills as a first baseman. He will need more time than just spring training to learn the position so perhaps he will make the total switch in 2006, barring any trades of course."

http://tinyurl.com/yoqgzw

Could someone here with more knowledge on the situation please enlighten me on what Frankie Piliere meant on how Duncan was close to being a Dodger almost two years ago? Also, would it be a good idea to bring him in to Spring Training to compete for the 3B job with Andy LaRoche? Maybe Joe Torre has an idea of how capable this kid can still be. Inquiring minds want to know. :-)

76
Duncan was part of the package coming from NYY to the Dodgers, in a 3-way deal involving Shawn Green to Arizona and Randy Johnson to NYY. DePodesta backed out of the deal, much to the consternation of many Yankee and D-Back fans.

Of course, Johnson still went to the Yanks, and Dioner Navarro ended up eventually in LA as part of the Shawn Green deal. It just wasn't in the same transaction.

76
See more information here (from 12/17/04):
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1947995

Proposed deal was:

Javier Vazquez, Dioner Navarro & Eric Duncan to LA
Randy Johnson to Yankees
Shawn Green, Brad Penny & Yhency Brazoban to Arizona

The deal fell apart after Beltre signed with the Mariners.

By failing to re-sign Beltre, the Dodgers may rethink their role in the trade, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported

Thanks, Eric. Much appreciated.

76
Even more information here:
http://tinyurl.com/39cknz

This article mentions "the Los Angeles Dodgers reneged on the deal," and that the deal was canceled because Javier Vazquez refused to travel to LA for a physical.

75-

My alma matter blew out yours!

Keep checking for Kuroda signing.
What happened to the recruiting team?

80. Once again, you have my gratitude, Eric.

78 - Dodged a bullet there. Brad Penny is far and away the best player in that deal and he almost was traded on a discount. Depo was got a reprieve there. At this point Depo's resume has no major problems, but several key additions.

For all the (perhaps justified) Lowe bashing, I am really glad we have him next year and I think he might be an excellent person to resign in 2008 if he can post his usual 200 IP and 3.6-4.00 ERA. Don't underestimate the very tangible values of Lowe (or Haren).

82
From the article in the Times earlier in the week, it sounds like the "team" went to Japan to recruit Kuroda over a week ago, and that the Dodgers' interest was reported after the fact.

Sounds like there is enough interest in him in the U.S. (Dodgers & Mariners being the most prominent) for Kuroda to officially leave the Carp.

If Kuroda and Andruw Jones (not Rowand) are the only big moves the Dodgers make this offseason, I can live with that.

84
But what kind of contract will Lowe be looking for after 2008? Assuming he's healthy and reasonably productive next season, Lowe will be entering his age 36 season in 2009 and I'm guessing will be looking for at least a 3-year deal (if not 4).

If the Dodgers can sign Lowe to a 1 or 2 year deal, I can be persuaded to accept that. But I'm skeptical.

From everything I've read, I'd be surprised if the Dodgers don't sign Kuroda.

86 It was pointed out to me that Lowe is a Bora$ client.

I really am curious to see what Kuroda will do, with the beginning of the Winter Meetings at hand.

88
I don't think that's much of a factor either way.

90 A persuasive argument was presented that Bora$ may ask for more years and money than the Dodgers would feel comfortable with.

91
Is the difference between Boras and another agent, specifically in Lowe's case, really significant?

If the Dodgers want Lowe back for multiple years, and if Lowe wants to come back, a deal will get done, regardless of Lowe's agent.

And is it really necessary to always type Bora$ instead of Boras? I'm not sure it adds to the discussion.

My first thought was that it might be reasonable to sign Lowe for two more years.
That would put him at age 36 at the end of his contract. How many more years would you extend him for? Do you think that it is reasonable to assume that Lowe's agent will shop him to the highest bidder for more years?

I've always been convinced that Lowe will end up signing with his hometown Tigers once his deal is up with us. Kenny Rogers will most likely be done there and they could use another decent older innings eater type pitcher. But with Boras in his corner I wouldn't be surprised if Lowe ended up with the highest bidder for his services.

93
Lowe is already signed through 2008, his age 35 season. He will be a free agent at the end of next season.

I think it would be unlikely to sign him to a 1- or 2-year extension, which is just about the maximum I would personally give him.

I just think Lowe will be looking for one final big payday with his next contract, meaning 3 or 4 years, something I'm not willing to give him. Whether his agent is Boras, Arn Tellum, Tommy Tanzer, or Fernando Cuza, or anyone else, I think that would be the case.

Supposedly wasn't Ethier and Kershaw the Twinkies wanted, but rather Kershaw plus Loney or Broxton. Dodgers allegedly backed out due to the cost and length of Santana's contract.
Story in this morning's NY Daily News.

I've never had a letter appear in the Los Angeles Times. I've tried, lord knows I've tried but I can't seem to break the firewall of readers that determine who's opinion gets read on the Saturday morning pages.

If only I wrote this: