Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
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My dad had severe back problems a few years back that made surgery seem inevitable. He worked his way through without having it, but then again, he wasn't trying to play shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Rafael Furcal is, however, and he'll have surgery Thursday to relieve pressure on a disc. He'll be out at least two more months. I haven't written much about the shortstop situation since he's been hurt because frankly, I'm at a loss. There's what we call a dearth out there, and it hasn't helped that backup plans Chin-Lung Hu, Tony Abreu, Luis Maza, Angel Berroa and Nomar Garciaparra haven't yet been able to fill the gap. I mean, the gap is like this (my arms are stretched real wide), and they've been like this (real close now).
Garciaparra is working his way back to the active roster in theory, but in the Associated Press article linked above, you can see even Joe Torre doesn't believe he can play every day. A trade is possible, though the outfielders and third basemen are probably safe for now given Juan Pierre's injury and the lack of alternatives at the hot corner. More likely, a pitcher would be the bait.
But I don't get into trade speculation - too many unknowns. What I can do is bring up a name that others in the comments have been brandishing for a few days: Ivan DeJesus, Jr. I've ignored him as a possibility because it would be way ahead of schedule for a 21-year-old with 80 games of experience at AA to become the starter for a Dodger team that, believe it or not, is only 1 1/2 games out of first place. But this is the year of Blake DeWitt, and so we can't say that stranger things haven't happened.
DeJesus (and isn't he a nice-looking lad) has an on-base percentage of .420 in the minors for Jacksonville this season - and Jacksonville isn't known for its offense. That's nearly a 50-point improvement from his 2007 season in A ball. I don't think it's stretching things to say that this is a big leap forward, and I don't know how much to trust it. But it does at least make it viable that he could be worth a shot in the majors. Forgive me, but I couldn't resist making this perhaps irrelevant comparison: Russell Martin had a .361 OBP in A ball at age 21 and improved to .430 in AA ball at age 22. Of course, Martin didn't come to the Dodgers until the following year, when he started the season in AAA. But the Dodgers don't need DeJesus to hit like Martin. They just need him to hit like a sentient being.
I'm always partial to giving the in-house option a shot before looking outside for help. Independent of that, what I'd really like to see is the Dodgers lose their dependence on offense from their shortstop. With Pierre out, the Dodger outfield has a chance to be more productive. (I won't get into Andruw Jones apparently imminent return, because again, that's too much of a wild card right now.) But it would sure help if the Dodgers could get their young third basemen to hit, to take the pressure off their potentially even younger shortstop. One weak bat in the lineup before the pitcher, the team can handle.
For at least a few days more, it could be Luis Maza and Angel Berroa holding down the fort, and then Garciaparra stepping in. But DeJesus, I suspect, could outplay Maza and Berroa now. So maybe his time is coming, even if it's as a part-timer. DeJesus is scheduled to play in the Futures Game July 13. It sure would be something if he were called up before then.
Update: Last year, Chin-Lung Hu had a .380 on-base percentage but a .508 slugging percentage at AA, at age 23. I don't think we saw the real Hu on offense this season.
Panic moves = bad moves...
tonight: 3-7 2b, hr (11)
He's slugging .564 on the season with excellent plate discipline. He is breaking out in a HUGE way.
Give Russ a shot at short!
we've heard a lot over the last few years about guys going to lighter bats to increase bat speed. but I'm wondering about a trend the other way.
F=m*a
p=m*v
however, you want to look at it from a physics standpoint.
At some point the increase in velocity or acceleration won't make up for the loss in mass. Where is that point? And would a singles hitter (like say Ivan DeJesus, Jr., or I don't know, Juan Pierre?) benefit from going with a heavier bat? Would the increase mass actually generate more force or momentum (the "p" in the equation above)?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844441/
It's kooky and features a Sookie!
Plan 9.
Jack Wilson!
I gotta muster up the courage to ask 'em though.
It's not like split with your wife is a crime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Necessity
Duncan is only 2 years older than me. And I'm only 2 years older than Jeff Kent.
You think the Yankees would be interested in taking Proctor back for Wilson B? Don't know if we could pry away Willy Aybar from Tampa Bay?
However on more serious note what always frustrates me about the Dodgers in comparison to the A's is exactly the case you make for Ivan DeJesus, no reason he couldn't come up and with Nomar and Mazza, between the three of them we might be able to piece it together. If DeJesus doesn't cut it you send him down and yes we may lose one year, but in the long run that is better than making a bad trade for at best a BELOW average SS.
Hu was supposed to be seeing another eye doctor, and perhaps there is a simple solution to his eye problem. He definitely showed far more offense last year.
While we all laugh at possible Duncan and Bowa being replacements, the question that can't be laughed at is why the Dodger medical staff either misses these diagnosis or how players are able to not disclose the true extent of their injuries.
Please, please, Ned, don't make any stupid moves. Please, Joe, put the right lineup forward. I can deal with the season failing if the players don't quite make it to the end, but I just can't tolerate any more organizational stupidity.
Seriously though, Nomar may no longer be an everyday player, but there is no way he can be as bad as Berroa. And while I'm not going to be making any bets on Jones' hitting, it will be nice to have his glove in centerfield again.
Of course, the way this season's been going (and really, this past decade), they'll both suffer some terrible freak injury and miss the rest of the season.
Speaking of which, why not just give Hu until August 1 to clear his head at Las Vegas and then give him the shortstop job again? It's very clear that he's a better hitter than he's shown so far. And even with the putrid offense he displayed, his overall performance has been far and away the best of the three failed Furcal replacements.
When Andruw is activated, since he is on the 15 day DL thus on the 40 man roster, we will have to drop one person from the 25-man but not the 40. I assume we will continue to carry 4 OFers thus Repko and Young would seem the best candidates but I think Young is out of options so Repko is the best candidate for Vegas.
When Nomar comes back its a bit more complicated since he is on the 60 day DL and does not count toward the 40 man roster. Best candidates to go down would be Sweeney, Berroa or Maza. Room on the 40 man roster could be created for Nomar by moving Furcal to the 60 day DL but I would assume that whoever goes down among those 3 would be DFAed so it is not necessary. My vote is for Sweeney.
At 3/39, even from what appeared to be a good gamble the Dodgers lost.
They got Furcal's career year in 2006.
A terrible Furcal in 2007.
And 1.5 months of a great Furcal, followed by no Furcal in 2008.
Raffy, we hardly knew ye.
It will be interesting to see which GM gives him a big paycheck next year.
If he signs somewhere in the division for 3/39, and that somewhere is not LA, he will have three 2006's.
If he signs somewhere in the division for 3/39, and that somewhere is LA, he will have three 2007's.
A) give him what he wants
B) offer him arbitration
C) wish him well and move on
Diamond says that Hu is supposed to see an eye doctor this week. Does anyone know the exact problem Hu has with his eyes.
#1. He's not going to be a type A free agent, so there's not the good draft picks to look forward too.
#2. If he takes the arbitration, he's probably looking at a deal of at least 14/15 mils for the 2009 year. Thats just not a very good gamble to take on a player that might be done.
I think it was reasonable to expect/hope for an OPS+ of around 100 from Furcal. That would make a huge difference on this team, but Furcal is really only an average hitter (above average for a shortstop).
I guess I feel that losing Furcal hurts so much not because he is so good, but because everyone else has been so bad.
That is bunk. Hope your not basing that on the number of errors he committed last year. As Canuck has said, not one published scout has said anything about DeJesus not being able to play SS. From my favorite scout breaking down the future league team:
"Ivan DeJesus (SS, LAD) follows in a line of strong defensive shortstops in the Dodgers' system. The 20 year-old is fundamentally sound and possesses range in all directions and average arm strength. He has a good bit of athleticism, but is only an average runner. His offense has improved immensely in just a year's time, as he is making better contact and drawing more walks. He lacks the secondary skills of power and speed, so his offense will be predicated on his BA/OBP. If he can maintain a respectable OBP, his bat handling abilities could suit him well in the number two hole. "
Or Carlos could move back to 3rd base where he started from just like Russ. Absolute gun for an arm.
You got that right.
The 22yr old catcher at Class A Inland Empire has these numbers:
.319/.426/.564
11Hrs
53bbs
44Ks
Is it too early to tell Russ Martin that his future with the Dodgers is at 2nd base ala Biggio?
Santana, DeJesus have to be in the lead for Dodgers Minor League POY.
It seems like a rough breakdown would look like this:
below average (but serviceable): 4 million
average: 6 million
above average (but not great): 10 million
all star: 15 million
superstar: 18 million
Although, I suppose it is generally the case that the winning bidder overpaid for the player.
As a RH: .343/.375/.522
67Abs, 11ks/3bbs 1HR
As a LH: .311/.439/.578
206Abs, 33Ks/50bbs, 10HRs
He's listed about the size of Beltre:
5'11 170#s. Doesnt seem very stout for a catcher, but his bat at that position would be a major asset.
Only because I hate the word "everything" or "always" but Magic Marlon and Maddux do not fall into your all inclusive net.
A high percentage of his in - season deals have been awful but he did hit a home run with two of them. Bad(Hendrickson), Bad(Lugo), Great(Marlon), Great(Maddux), Bad(Proctor), Bad(Sweeney), Bad(Loaiza). Only Lugo was injured.
Wilson Betemit was last seen playing SS for the Yankees.
Signed Lofton
Signed Saito
Kent extension
Declined Gagne
Signed Wolf
Signed Park
Signed Kuroda
He's King Midas in reverse (all he touches turns to dust)
Next season Shortstop and Second base need to be manned.
I'd be surprised if the Dodgers haven't been exploring ways of filling these needs with other teams since Furcal first went down. Berroa was all that the Dodgers could get for next to nothing.
Who are the FA middle infielders that will be making themselves available for next season?
If you want to see what this group of kids can do for the rest of the season can DeJesus Jr. be any worse with the bat than Berroa? He might be as nifty at the plate as Maza.
With Kent and Furcal and Nomar probably not being back next year and Hu and Abreu now more of a question mark along with Jones, I can see trades in the off season for veterans using the Kent, Furcal, Lowe, and Nomar money.
Why has it taken so long for Hu to have a second opinion on his vision problems.
And lets give DeJesus a shot.
Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
DeWitt, 3B
Young, LF
Maza, SS
Billingsley, P
2B - Mark Ellis, Orlando Hudson, Felipe Lopez, Mark Grudzielanek
SS - Adam Everett, Edgar Renteria (Det has an option), Cristian Guzman, and a trio of ex-LA SS's: Furcal, Cora, and Izturis.
What he actually says is "Just a hunch, but stay tuned for injury updates...".
So, does the hunch refer to the lineup, or to the possibility of injury updates?
Didn't Wood always have high strike out numbers?
I think it's safe to conclude that Torre is both (1) unaware of, and (2) uninterested in the respective minor league performances of DeWitt and LaRoche. All Torre knows/cares about is what he has seen this season, which means that DeWitt is better than LaRoche in Torre's eyes.
I'd offer Furcal arbitration. The only thing I would not do is offer him a multi-year deal.
And until Andy actually does something that will remain true. Andy needs to do something against these LHP.
What is Furcal's salary this year? His average is $13M/year, but ESPN has $15.7M for this year. His contract was backloaded, I believe.
Mircodiscectomy: A Surgical Alternative for Leg and Back Pain
Kara A. Rieman
Mentor(s): John DeWitt School/Department: Health and Sport Sciences Low back pain associated with peripheral nerve pain of the legs (radiculopathy) that occurs over a period of months can be alleviated through a surgical procedure called microdiscectomy. The procedure involves moving the erector spinae muscles away from the lumbar vertebrae, accessing the impinged nerve root by extracting the ligamentum flavum and removing a piece of the facet joint. This type of lumbar surgery is much easier to recover from then traditional lumbar spine surgeries. Rehabilitation will begin as soon as stitches have been removed and the repair phase of the back muscles has been reached.
While I think your assessment is correct, I still have a hard time believing that a big name major league manager is unaware the his 3rd baseman has had an OPS of under .500 in his last 100 PAs. The only explination that I can come up with is that Torre believe's that LaRoche has no value whatsoever, which is sad.
Why? It is only money, if it works out you get a healthy Furcal to be the centerpiece of a young team coming more into their own. If not then you have a battle between Hu, Abreu, and DeJesus.
I don't think that's it. He is getting the job done defensively, and I think he is just getting the long rope treatment. Which I belive is getting short. Plus he has contributed some during this bad stretch.
Juan Uribe, Felipe Lopez, Bill Hall.
All with definite flaws, but all vast improvements over Angel Berroa, which was a choice only Colletti would even consider.
On the contrary, I would have a hard time believing that most major league managers pay any attention to OPS.
Luckily, it's not a high-demand offense position (though we certainly need all the offense we can get). I think league avg. OPS is about .750. Jack Wilson, David Eckstein, & Christian Guzman might be the best candidates for trade. They all have their pros & cons, but I just hope Colletti doesn't have to give up much to get one.
I credit Torre for benching him for Maza.
Average AL SS OPS: .670
Average NL SS OPS: .724
Hillenbrand?
Agreed. Good story with a scary ending.
https://cardboardgods.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1039625.html
LaRoche career: 123 AB .220/.349/.317
DeWitt last 123 AB: .203/.261/.260
Why does DeWitt get a pass when LaRoche doesn't?
114 Yep.
(current age)
DeJesus- 21
Loney- 24
DeWitt- 23
LaRoche (2b)- 24
I'm 30 and feel like an old fogey now..
Every major league manager is aware of OBP and SLG perhaps he doesn't add them together but never the less he has to know that Blake's last 100 PA's have been nothing short of dreadful.
113
You may need to look at DeWitt's June numbers and realize that he has been no better than Berroa
As somewhat expected, Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra will be activated from the disabled list tomorrow and be able to play beginning Friday in San Francisco, where Garciaparra is scheduled to start at shortstop. The two cut short their rehabilitation assignments after three games and will fly to San Francisco today rather than play in Las Vegas tonight.
Chin-lung Hu, after seeing a neuro-opthamologist, he has been prescribed eye drops that is supposed to take for about two weeks to clear up the blurred vision in his right eye.
I've noticed that his blog tends to have far fewer typos than Jackson's.
It was Nomar.
In the 6th inning of his 3rd game back.
With the hamstring.
"The problem isn't their being cautious, it's that they're letting caution be the plan, rather than having a plan that should allow that caution to be put to rest at some point. I'm still not convinced that Kershaw is the pitcher most think he is. I'm also not convinced that the Dodgers don't know something we don't."
He suggest that the Dodgers are both being overly cautious, and that they may know of some secret injury? And that Kershaw is possibly not as good as people think he is? Quite a hodge podge of innuendo. Earlier he says that Kershaw is one of the teams 4 best starters right now and shouldn't have been sent down. I'm not sure if he's one of their 6 best "right now," considering their pitching depth and his command issues and inconsistency. He's probably not far from being one of their two best, and that could be as early as next year, but not just yet.
It's unfair to make him sit on the bench all week, then face Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia, expecting him to hit like gangbusters.
Eric Stults, who is away in Indiana for the birth of his second child, will rejoin the club in time to pitch on Sunday against the Giants.
It doesn't help the problem you pointed out, but I should have put an ellipsis in front of the quote in 125 ; it wasn't written awkwardly, as I made it appear.
He has never liked the Dodgers pronouncement that Kershaw will pitch a set number of innings this year.
But remember, he also claims that Chad Billingsley has some type of injury, and he reported thoroughout last year that the Dodgers have some type of internal struggle in their front office.
I wouldnt mind for 2009 season.
1b- Teixeira (age 29)
2b- Russ Martin (age 26)
SS- Ivan DeJesus (age 22)
3b- Andy LaRoche (age 25)
Put Lucas May or Santana at catcher. They'll struggle for 2009, but imagine how good that team could be in 2010.
Now in terms of who goes tomorrow (or probably today after the game),
A. Jason Repko (nice 4-day visit to Texas)
B. Angel Berroa (don't know his status, he was playing in the minors for KC so he might just get optioned)
C. DeWitt/LaRoche.
I dont know what Colletti was thinking with Berroa, should've just called up trusty Ramon Martinez. Thats a name I haven't heard, probably becacuse I missed someone's post or because theres an impending rebuttal of which the details I am aware of, but the point is it was another frantic move from our frantic GM.
More like our skitzo GM because his other side can't resist calling up the farm, which isn't necessarily bad unless you get the Edwin Jackson Effect outa Kershaw. The kid needed to go down and find a 3rd pitch but he certainly didn't seem to take it well.
Which brings us to DeJesus. Don't know that much about him, but I have been throwing his name around in some circles because I know he's next in line on the prospect train that Colletti clings to hide from all the bad deals he's made. Might as well see what he's got. Nomar's done. Martin isnt going to play short (although it would be cool to watch).
rabble rabble rabble
I'm assuming that means that getting rid of Loney is an option?
Choices - Sweeney (my choice), DeWitt, LaRoche, Berroa (my second choice) or Maza.
Putting Furcal on the 60 day DL only opens a spot on the 40 man for Nomar coming off the 60 day DL. No effect on the 25 man roster.
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