It was so short, that happy spell. So, so short.

The Kemp statement is definitely more emphatic. Saying I don't plan on trading Pierre is not a ringing endorsement, at least.

I like SG6's comment that Ned was winking when he said that.

So many posts. So little time! :)

I agree with Nate, from the previous thread. If Pierre complains that he does not want any part of left field, then maybe we just eat a good chunk of his deal and get rid of him.

Wondering about the 25-man roster, what are the odds LaRoche makes the club if he doesn't outright win the 3B job? Would he stay with the big club to start two days a week for a gimpy Nomar?

Also, given Loney's great spring 2007, what will LaRoche have to hit to win the 3B job?

Show your selfish side for once Juan!

6
I think LaRoche has a better chance than Loney did, because Nomar is coming off a horrible season. I think if LaRoche has a good spring training they split time and then whoever does better gets the job at some point.

8
Yeah, that sounds like the plan.

6 But LaRoche isn't battling with the 2006-Comeback-Player-Of-The-Year Nomar. He's battling with Kicked-Out-Of-1st-Base Nomar.

So unless I'm reading things completely wrong, Delwyn Young's career as a Dodger effectively ended today. The news that Pierre will not be traded combined with the fact that Repko was offered a contract means there isn't room on the roster for Young, and he can't be sent back to AAA since he's out of options.

11
Or we are dealing Ethier. I think Ned would deal Pierre if he could.

I am thinking Ethier for Benoit + a prospect

11 - I think we decided Repko has an option. So the Dodgers might pay $450K just to keep him as injury insurance. Not such an extravagance, all things considered.

11
It depends on whether the Dodgers think of Young as an occasional second baseman. In theory, Young could still stick around as a useful bat off the bench.

Assuming Nomar & Pierre start, this could be a good and versatile Dodger bench:

OF - Ethier (L)
3B - LaRoche (R)
IF - Abreu (S)
2B/OF - Young (S)
OF - Repko (R)
C - John Q. Backup (Lieberthal/Miller/Bennett)

11 Or Young and Repko battle it out for a roster spot.

Current 25-man?

Starting Pitchers (5): Billingsley, Lowe, Penny, Schmidt, Loaiza

Bullpen (6): Saito, Broxton, Beimel, Proctor, Brazoban, Kuo/Houlton

Starting lineup (8): Martin, Loney, Kent, Furcal, Garciaparra, Pierre, Jones, Kemp

Bench (6): Abreu, LaRoche, May, Ethier, Young, Valdez/Hu

Just because a GM says he won't trade a player doesn't mean that he actually won't, does it? In theory, if you are planning to trade a player, you should say that you aren't going to trade him and then you can hope that his value goes up a bit. Who knows, though.

It would be awesome if we could get something like Benoit and Taylor Teagarden for Ethier. We need catching depth in the minors and Teagarden will, at the very least, grow up to be as good a backup catcher as you could possibly want.

17 - Certainly.

18 - Maybe we can quickly offer Hendrickson a contract and trade him for Navarro.

Also, Colletti could have said something like, "I don't plan on trading Pierre at this moment but anything could happen. We do in fact have too many outfielders." I am going to choose to remain optimistic.

Why haven't they made a Russell Martin Fathead yet?

I like to take the glass-half-full position that playing Pierre in left is a step towards accepting reality getting rid of him. The more he plays there the more you have to realize that he's offensively inadequate for the position. As left is easier to fill defensively than center, the temptation to replace him in the lineup now and then will get progressively greater. First you begin substituting for him when the team is slumping offensively, then a little more, then a little more . . .

Going back to the reference to McCovey Chronicles, I found it rather amusing that they know XeiFrank. Make drop in appearances to show probabilities they will get stomped on any given day I assume? :)

One of the posters added a request to Sabean saying how say that the Giants needed another OF because they clearly don't have enough, and he was their man. He played CF in 77' with a Jr baseball team and XeiFrank Boras was his agent. Funny stuff

I like the update above from Gurnick. The seeds of discontent have been sown!

Jason Tyner was non-tendered by the Twins. He would make a nice bookend with Pierre.

However, those are not metaphorical bookends.

he wished he had more of an inkling to our thought process

Ned Colletti really has a way with words. Apparently just not English words.

24

Water the seed. Lets make it grow!

Nook Logan non-tendered (or just released - don't think he's arb eligible). Who wants to let Colletti know?

"The main thing he got across to me is that he wished he had more of an inkling to our thought process," Colletti said of Pierre. "He said he just wished he knew a month ago. I didn't know. Who knew?"

a) This Pierre-to-left thing has been going on longer than a month, hasn't it? Or does the thought process only date back to the Jones signing itself.

b) If Pierre had known about this possibility two months ago, what difference would it make?

29

Gives him more time to put his house up for sale?

I again refer to Gerry Frayley of the Sporting News: "The Los Angeles Dodgers may have to keep outfielder Juan Pierre because there is no market for him, and newly added center fielder Andruw Jones will need more time off at this stage of his career. Jones leads the majors in games played (1,730) and games played in center (1,629) since 1997. Jones' decline last season can be traced to the effects of that workload."

What I read: (a) no one would take JP, and (b) he may end up being Jones's caddy.

29
He could start his steroid cycle earlier?

Left fielders are supposed to have pop.

Being serious, knowing Pierre he will probably go practice everyday now reading flyballs from left-field and where he has to throw. Not that a month would really help that. So maybe, he meant he would try to get himself traded.

29
Pierre knew as soon as October 12!

http://tinyurl.com/2nl7uu

Asked if he would be more willing to move if he was making room for a Gold Glove center fielder like Andruw Jones, he said:

"We'll see. He's probably the best center fielder in the game. I'm not to his caliber."

33
Actually, Pierre was asked the move to left right after the season finale, on September 30.

33 - That's what I thought!

So if he (JP) would have known a month ago what he would have beggining learning how to throw? Does he ever pick up a paper, I mean baseball knew we were going after a CF'er in October. I didn't really get that statement.

The impression I get from Pierre's comment is basically that he would rather Colletti tell him directly "we're trying to replace you" than have the media tell him "they're trying to replace you."

sorry 29 etc..I had my post in the que for too long.

35
Someone needs to cue Charles Laughton!

37
Which would make Pierre's unhappiness a good thing for us right? Pierre already knew about the move to left for 2 months, so he couldn't have been talking about simply moving positions.

He's getting his playing time reduced, that's the only thing I can take from this. And I want to hug Ned Colletti for it!

Maybe Colletti told him that his consecutive games streak would be coming to an end, and that's what he wanted to be warned about. Or maybe that was just a dream I had. . .

http://tinyurl.com/ypnrbm

ZIPS on Kuroda and if he goes to the Dodgers.

The jist....

2008: 180IP 115 ERA+
2009: 176IP 112 ERA+
2010: 172IP 105 ERA+

Yes Bizzaro Jerry and his friends got old, plus I counldn't date "Man Hands" either, but I can learn to really like Bizzaro Ned.

"Me so happy. Me want to cry."

Just a thought that comes to mind this time of year.

If you know that you are going to non-tender Hendrickson, why not just release him/DFA him prior to setting the 40 man roster so you could keep someone like Wright around?

On Repko, I agree with Jon, its part of a depth thing plus I believe Repko has options left so you can still keep Young when the times comes.

42

2008 15% optimistic: 194IP 3.33ERA 136 ERA+

31 I don't buy-in to the argument that Jones may be wearing out and his numbers from last season are an indicator. He's not that old. I would say his biggest problems are overswinging (trying to hit the home run), and a noticeable weight gain. Both issues can be fixed. If he's in shape and cuts down on the overswinging, I'd play him every game - especially for the dollars the Dodgers have signed him.

46
What about the flashing red light on his palm?

44 If you know that you are going to non-tender Hendrickson, why not just release him/DFA him prior to setting the 40 man roster so you could keep someone like Wright around?

Excellent point.

Maybe (and just maybe) they are closer to signing Kuroda than we thought, and his signing is/was the final nail in the coffin for Hendrickson, and that wasn't known/suspected 3 weeks ago when the 40s were finalized.

The plot thickens:

George Mitchell's report on drugs in baseball will finger MVPs and All-Stars, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.
-- rotoworld

Sadly, Pierre has never been an all-star and was only 10th in MVP voting in 2003 and 16th in '04.

I just get the feeling Wright wasn't valued.

49
I knew Lance Carter was on the juice.

49
Who uses the verb "finger" anymore? That's awesome! I hope an Edward G. Robinson sound-alike will announce the names tomorrow.

Just catching up with today's posts/threads.

"yhoptions" -- smile.

And new commenters abound!

I was seriously considering a 12 pack of games in the Left Field Pavilion this year, but if Pierre is out there, I will need to reconsider.

42

Based off of ZIPS, Kuroda will be better than Billingsley and Lowe next year.

54
Well, you'll be safe in the sense that if he decides to go Albert/Joey Belle on you it probably won't hurt too much.

Based on that and Silver's Fukudome projection, I think we have a little bit further to go when projecting Japanese hitters. He missed Iwamura's slugging percentage by a good 50 points, and I think he did the same for Fukudome.

46 "The only thing you can't have in Logan's world is your 30th birthday. Unless you run away."

How was ZIPS projection of Igawa?

56 I'm betting he wouldn't be able to clear the wall.

56 Could he throw a ball into the pavilion seats from the LF warning track?

59 4.77 ERA 135 K/49BB

Matsuzaka: 3.44 ERA 131 K/34 BB

59
2007 ZIPS for Igawa: 200 IP, 4.77 ERA, 49/135 BB/K

Actual: 6.25 ERA, 37/53 BB/K in 67.2 IP

59

4.77 era
http://tinyurl.com/yg4frl

62 Quick draw!

Yeah, so I am not going to be counting on Kuroda to be approaching Billingsley at all.

i loss because i included a tinyurl link.

67 But I threw in Matsuzaka as a bonus.

By the way, thanks for the info all three of you.

47- Maybe he'll Renew. . .

70

Carousel is a fraud!

71- Naw. I've seen people Renew. Plenty of times.

Life clocks are a lie!

"The main thing he got across to me is that he wished he had more of an inkling to our thought process,"
This is where Colletti admits he didn't communicate well with the team.

"He said he just wished he knew a month ago. I didn't know. Who knew?"
This is where Colletti admits he doesn't have a plan.

I don't see any reason to try to read what Juan Pierre was thinking. As for the possibility of shifting to left, I thought that was just the press asking him.

Via Yahoo:

"The Los Angeles Angels declined Wednesday to offer infielder Dallas McPherson a contract for next season, making him a free agent. The decision was announced hours before Wednesday's midnight deadline for unsigned players on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old McPherson missed the entire 2007 season while recovering from back surgery."

75

That is kind of shocking.

Jeez, I actually get caught up in work all day and there's like 10 posts to read.

75 Link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/laa

from Gurnick

Reports out of Japan, however, say Kuroda informed his former manager with the Hiroshima Carp that he had decided to sign with the Dodgers. He gave three reasons: The Dodgers are playing their 50th year in L.A., Joe Torre is the manager and the Dodgers have a better chance of reaching the playoffs than the Mariners, who were his second choice

From Josh Rawich:

The thing that he kept repeating that stuck out with me is his converations with Ned and Frank in which he said they showed him how much they wanted him and how badly they expect and want to win here.

Badly enough not to play Pierre in left field, I hope.

79 Reason #1 puzzles me.

81 - Maybe he likes the number 50, or maybe he wants to play in the coloseum.

So, Joe Torre may have prevented a Matt Kemp trade, just by being here.

From Diamond Leung:

"People can think what they want about Juan and the position change, but he's a great guy," said Mark Pieper, Pierre's agent

84

Can someone translate agent speak for me please.

84
We never had problem with Juan Pierre as a person. We have a problem with his ability to play baseball and rap.

85 I think he's saying that Pierre's "great guy" rating is not weighted by position.

I interpreted it as, "Don't expect Pierre to raise a stink about this."

Now, if he had said, ""People can think what they want about Juan and the position change, and he's a great guy," that would have been funny.

88

So what happens when Pierre doesn't start in one random game in April...Then again the next day...and day after that...

according to the Dodgers.com depth chart, Matt Kemp is our starting left fielder and right fielder.

I'd love it if Pierre went all Marbury on Torre if he doesn't start, but I'm not expecting it.

90 Never under estimate the Bison.

90 We already know that Matt Kemp is such a good outfielder that the infield fly rule applies to him (fact #10). So it is a surprise that he can play two outfield positions at once?

I don't know if this was mentioned yet but watching Leading Off with "Sterno" Andruw Jones looks a lot like Odalis Perez. (to me at least)

92 - I don't, I just hope Andruw Jones doesn't get in his way.

If Kemp plays LF and RF at the same time does he get two spots in the batting order?

People can think what they want about Juan and his lack of ability to play baseball at the major league level, but he's great at Sudoku.

79 Kuroda hates Brooklyn.

91 I'd love it if Pierre went all Marbury on Torre if he doesn't start, but I'm not expecting it.

Or maybe he'll go all Latrell Sprewell on Torre. I'd pay to see that. :-)

More great news from the SF Chronicle:

Bochy envisions Randy Winn batting third, Bengie Molina fourth and Rowand fifth

http://tinyurl.com/2fa297

Also, not so good news: Sabean declared he wouldn't trade Cain or Lincecum. I'd like to think he declared it in the same fashion as Michael Scott declared bankruptcy.

100
How these people keep their jobs is beyond me.

Way beyond.

Or maybe he'll go all Latrell Sprewell on Torre. I'd pay to see that. :-)

A bit harsh, I'd say. I don't wish any harm on Joe Torre.

What I'd pay to see would be Bobby Knight coaching Latrell Sprewell.

100

Declaring anything will never be the same anymore after seeing that. At least for me it won't be.

JP really is a good guy, and more exciting than most. In the batters box he is exciting to watch, as he tomohawks balls and gets on base, and it is true that he rarely strikes out. And it is exciting to watch him try to steal second, and wondering if he will make it. It is excitng to watch him track down balls over his head and wonder if he will turn the right way. Watching his attempts to try to get the ball back to the infield by running a few steps forward and other machinations is also very entertaining. I was going to conclude with a rather snide thought that would have negated most of the good, but I won't do it tonight, so I'll leave it at that. Bless the D's.

Also from Gurnick, the Dodgers backup catcher search is down to Damian Miller v. Gary Bennett.

Damian Miller is a former All-Star...!

Gary Bennett has a career OPS+ of 64.

Man, can't we just have re-signed Mike Lieberthal? Too expensive for a backup? I don't get it...

97 LOL.

85: Translation of agent speak:
"He's a great guy"
=
"Don't measure his value in statistics (they're not good), instead measure intangible factors that may or may not help the baseball team win."

Agents are salespeople, and he's selling JP's best point: he's a good clubhouse guy and won't raise a stink about his position change. And with those poor statistics, too-large contract, and one too many "starting" outfielders on the team, he doesn't have any leverage to make a stink anyway.

It looks more & more everyday that the outfield will be: PIERRE LF**JONES CF**ETHIER/KEMP RF IF we pick up Kuroda there is a good chance it will stay that way. I really don't know if Kemp & Ethier are going to like it for too long......But Here we go. I tell you we do have a lot of SPEED.