Continuing ToyCannon's quest from previous thread...

2008 Leftfielders:

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/T2gG

49 players

Mean: 103
Median: 104

Dodgers were tops at SS & LF

Torre/Colletti may both like Kemp, but there's no denying that frustration has leaked from time-to-time in their comments about him.

2008 CF:

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/w9u7

39 players

Mean: 94
Median: 99

1 Was a month of Furcal really enough to make the Dodgers tops at SS? Or am I confusing a way these are being calculated?

And to Tripon, it is huge e-news, not e-huge news ;-). I get tired of the e-* as much as anyone, but the other solution is big buzzword-surplus words, which just makes me cringe.

1 Reading the list my first thought was, "Who is Chris Dickerson?"

2 Torre comments about his frustration with Kemp mostly came early in the season. By the time Aug/Sept rolled around, he was praising Kemp's work ethic, on how much pressure Kemp puts on himself to succeed, and trying to back him up whenever possible. I think the way Torre handled Kemp during the first three months of the season is different from the way Torre handled him in the last three months and the playoffs.

2008 RF:

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/nUYG

39 players

Mean: 109
Median: 107

5

I took that as a joke to be read in a Mike Myers Scottish accent, ala "So I Married an Axe Murderer"

4
The minimum is only 100 PA

5
I had the same thought. I think I follow baseball pretty darned fanatically, and when I saw Dickerson I had no idea who he was.

I meant 4

Posted this at the very end of the last thread before I saw NPUT.

Before the winter meetings are over, I fully expect to see a Dan Uggla to the Dodgers rumor. This is pure speculation on my part, but the Marlins have recently shed the contracts of 4 arbitration eligible players in Kevin Gregg, Josh Willingham, Mike Jacobs, and Scott Olsen. Uggla is due to get the biggest raise out of all their remaining arb-eligible players, the Dodgers need a second baseman, and in all likelihood have the players/prospects to make a deal happen.
Now the Marlins (according to what I've read) are not actively shopping Uggla but it stands to reason that if they are still so cost conscious enough to trade away 4 players all due for a raise, they would at least listen to offers for Uggla. What do you guys think? Could this happen and if so, do you think the Dodgers acquiring Uggla for a modest package of players would be a good thing or bad thing? Who do you think it would take to get him?

Now we're guessing about what rumors will come up?

2008 DH:

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/auUf

14 players

Mean: 105
Median: 105

So here is the full table of 2008 OPS+ by position:

C - 82 mean / 83 median
1B - 111/110
2B - 94/94
3B - 98/98
SS - 81/84
LF - 103/104
CF - 94/99
RF - 109/107
DH - 105/105

Per Rosey - the Dodgers have a new offer to Blake, will get an answer later today.

So when will Buzz Bissinger be submitting his work for an e-Pulitzer?

Blake reportedly rejected a 2/$6 offer from the Twins, and the Dodgers are reportedly the only other team interested in his "services".

No apparent reason for Ned to offer any more than 2/$6.1.

The LA Times is reporting that its paper now officially comes with a Chapter 11 in it.

The Braves are anxious to get the A.J. Burnett deal resolved. In addition to adding a starter, they're also in the market for a left fielder. They've identified free agent Raul Ibanez as the best fit because he hits for power and plays solid defense. Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu, who are also free agents, don't interest the Braves as much because their defense is suspect.

Wow, that made me snicker. How in the heck are Burrnell and Aberu worse fielders over Ibanez?

http://beta.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings_2008

17
The seldom-used Section K!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/

Dodgers unlikely to make a C.C. bid, and Nomar doesn't know if he's going to retire yet.

13
Thanks, you know where this will be used.

18
ow in the heck are Burrnell and Aberu worse fielders over Ibanez

2008 UZR per 150 games
Ibañez: -11.0
Burrell: -14.7
Abreu: -25.9

All are bad, but Raul might be slightly better

20 "...at least not at this time" is the other thing that article says. Doesn't sound likely but it's still possible. My guess is they may try Manny first, and if not look for pitching and/or infield second. They may be able to re-sign Manny and Furcal and/or Blake, and thus not be able to make a serious try for CC, too. No way can they do Manny and CC both. But it's not a closed door yet.

I wouldn't mind having Nomar back as a sub/PH.

Using Marcels and all our current in house options (including Berroa, and Ray Durham- I had no other 2B to use) this is what our offense looks like next year.

PA's
Loney 563
Durham 466
Hu 268
DeWitt 410
Ethier 548
Kemp 560
Jones 385
Berroa 329
Young 275
Martin 587
Pierre 476
Pitchers 318

.265/.330/.402

Last years team had a line of .264/.333/.399. The totals of the PA's listed above equal 5,185 which is about 1,000 PA short of last years team.

24 I mean there are 1000 PA's unaccounted for.

Blake reportedly rejected a 2/$6 offer from the Twins, and the Dodgers are reportedly the only other team interested in his "services".

Yeah, I'm not sure why Casey Blake rejected arbitration. Odds were he would have gotten at least 8-10 mils for 1yr.

http://beta.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings_2008

Moyer wants 20 million/2 years from the Phillies. Since the Phillies are balking at that, Moyer rehired his old agent and is shopping himself to other teams.

26 Probably because he thinks that the market for his services, given his age, won't be any better next season as far as getting a longer term contract goes. He could end up doing the 1 year thing for the rest of his career, the Kenny Lofton of infielders.

26 - I'm surprised Cleveland wouldn't jump in at those terms. It sounded like at the time of the trade, they'd try to get him back in the off-season. I think they are still short an infielder, no matter how they move Cabrera and Peralta around.

Has there been any confirmation or explanation of the reported 2/$6 offer for Blake -- that is, is it 2 years at $3 each or 2 years at $6 each?

One can't imagine that it's the former, but these deals are usually reported as (total years)/(total money).

30
MLB.com reported last Wednesday the Twins offer was two years at $6m per year, plus an option for a third year.

http://tinyurl.com/6gbdy8

31
I think the Dodgers go 2/14 with a third year option.

I just can't see him doing better than that this offseason.

MLB Trade Rumors says Tigers are no longer in the running for Jack Wilson and will instead sign Adam Everett.

The good news here is that the report makes no mention of the Dodgers. Report says the Twins may be possible suitors.

Dodgers' Maury Wills, Gil Hodges, Joe Torre fall short of Hall of Fame election

>> Willis, named on just 15 ballots, stole a then-record 104 bases with the Dodgers in 1962, when he won the National League MVP award. A member of seven All-Star teams and a two-time Gold Glove winner, Willis hit .281 and stole 586 bases in 14 big-league seasons with the Dodgers, Pirates and Expos, winning three world championships. <<

No wonder Wills didn't make it. Even his home team newspaper isn't sure who he is.

http://tinyurl.com/4vcp9o

34 Whatchoo talkin' 'bout!

34
At least they got the Torre spelling right.

I will love it if owners stick to their guns and the market falls out from under all of Boras' clients.

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/12/dodgers_yankees_havent_talked.html

"Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti knocked down a Foxsports.com report that he is "again talking" to the Yankees about acquiring second baseman Robinson Cano, with the Yankees interested in Matt Kemp and pitching."

I suppose the one good thing about the economy tanking is Scott Boras getting laughed at left and right.

38 (con'td) "It'd be nice to talk first," Colletti said.

The difference between on-the-record reporting and off-the-record reporting.

Nancy Bea feature:

http://tinyurl.com/6z4w7k

38 40

That was mighty proactive of Ned

Here's a pretty illuminating look at the spending habits of a high-profile superstar athlete:

http://tinyurl.com/6fybwm

These details are coming to light as Michael Vick attempts to file bankruptcy, while creditors (including the Falcons) try to collect.

39
I chuckle because Manny's funny quote, "Gas is up, and so am I," is being thrown back at Boras now that gas prices are half of what they were a few months ago.

41

I love Nancy Bea

41
I'm chuckling at the thought of a Nancy Bea Helfey - Kevin Brown staredown.

Casey Blake is a very average player. Marcel projects him to be 2 runs above average with the bat at 600 PA. I think he is about -5 at 3B. With a positional adjustment he comes out around 20 runs above replacement. Paying 7 or 8 million for him is fine, but I wouldn't guarantee a third year.

46
It takes a special kind of jerk to call out Nancy Bea, especially for something so minor.

46 - That was my favorite part.

48 It's that kind of attitude that's going to keep Brown out of the Hall of Fame. I believe he's a very similar pitcher to Mike Mussina (who will make it, I think), but nobody ever rooted for Kevin Brown.

Kevin McHale, your new Timberwolves coach.

50 - Supposedly Mussina has not made a ton of friends among the beat writers. But that's just something I hear third-hand.

It's funny, I always thought of Nancy Bea Hefley as a Dodger lifer, someone that's been around forever and ever. I can't believe she's only been playing at the stadium since 1987.

This is, um, interesting...

http://mlb.mlb.com/la/photo/2004album/june/618morenomccourt.jpg

54 is it just me or does everybody in the background have their eyes closed?

Rosenthal talked to Towers Towers added that he approached Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti about a Peavy deal, but that did not gain traction becuase of the asking price of young talent.

52 Interesting. The third similar pitcher -- similar in both stats and rep for being a bit of a jerk -- is Schilling. Maybe all three make it. Maybe all three don't. Maybe voters like Mussina's 270 wins, or Schilling's bloody sock*, or Brown's... whatever. It will be interesting to see how the voters distinguish between them or not.

*I'm being disingenuous. Schilling is a premier pitcher who shined in the postseason. If you need a reason to put your thumb on the scale to vote for Schilling for the HOF, this is as good a reason as any.

9 Dickerson was my secret weapon on my fantasy baseball team in the 2nd half last season until he got hurt. I noticed his quick start when he got called up so I quickly checked an old BA prospects guide. All I remember that I found was that he's a toolsy OF w/good bloodlines. He's the nephew of Eric Dickerson.

58 good bloodlines sounds like he is a racehorse

59 supposedly he runs like one..

46 I'm going with the idea of Neil Diamond incognito at Dodger Stadium.

Hearing the note on Dreifort made me more sad that he had such an unfortunate (well, outside of the $$) career.

3:10pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown says the Dodgers raised their offer to three years and are nearing an agreement with Blake.

Looks like Ned bit. I hope the last year is fairly cheap, where we can almost look like its a bonus to Casey Blake.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ArC3bNjRS1mzYi2gvF8wpl4RvLYF?slug=ti-blakedodgers120808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

41
I'm not a big fan of the organ music but that behind the work story about the little subtle things she had done during her tenure makes me appreciate what she does.

53 - I'm the opposite.....I tend to think of Nancy Bea as a relative newcomer and can't believe she's been around that long already. When I think of the Dodger Stadium organist I think of Helen Dell. I guess it just means I'm getting old.

62
Better yet is the Furcal part if you happen to want Furcal to be part of the Dodger future.

I don't like Casey Blake.

65 How many wins is a Dodgers team with Blake, Furcal, and Manny returning without Derek Lowe? 88? 90?

Dodgers raised their offer to three years and are nearing an agreement with Blake

It's as if Ned's worried Blake will choose to sit out a year if he can't get a contract with more than 2 years.

53 I'm old enough to remember Helen Dell. Nancy Bea is still a usurper in my mind.

65 Yah, for those not wanting to leave the comfort of Dodger Thoughts:

>>Furcal turned down a lowball, four-year offer from the Oakland Athletics last week and might be having trouble finding anything better. He said immediately after the season that he wanted to return to the Dodgers, where he played the last three years, but the significant early interest in him on the free-agent market caused him to explore his options. Those options may be dwindling fast.<<

Unlike Andrew, I like Casey Blake. I don't like Casey Blake for 3 years, though. That third year should've been an option. Waiting to hear details of the contract though before passing judgement. So DeWitt to 2nd then?

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is growing frustrated in attempts to deal with Manny Ramirez and agent Scott Boras. "I just find it curious," Colletti said. "We made a [contract] offer and never heard back. We made a [salary] arbitration offer and never heard back. Maybe we have to look into the communications we're using." We're guessing a four-year, $100 million offer would prompt some kind of response. - Rotoworld

The Broncos have now lost their fifth tailback for the season, as Hillis goes down. :-(

It's like going out with a bunch of people knowing you shouldn't get too attached or into any of them because they will soon leave you. I'm getting numb to it at this point.

Cool, I guess I get to make ZZ Top references for a few more years.

Not that that's good for the team, mind you.

2008 PECOTA projected MORP for Casey Blake by year:

2009: $2,650,000
2010: $1,925,000
2011: $1,000,000

If that's the three year deal, I still won't be happy about it (I don't like Casey Blake; I may have mentioned).

Blake: I have no other offers.
Ned: Okay, I'll throw in a third year.

Varitek may have made a Jody Reed type of mistake. Love to be a fly on the wall in the Boras group as they try to figure out a way to come out of this smelling like a rose. Is anyone going to give Varitek a decent contract and give away their draft picks? How could he turn down arbitration after the season he had? Boras better have some suitors lined up for him but I don't see any.

Does Ned realize Blake is 35 years old?!?!

Hah hah. I never noticed there was a Yankee blog called "Scott Proctor's Arm" before.

http://scottproctorsarm.blogspot.com/2008/12/yankees-and-dodgers-havent-talked.html

75 Yeah, seriously, that's the part I don't get. Couldn't they have just upped the Twins' offer of 2 years by just a bit more in money? Blake would not have gotten better than that. Where's Kim Ng's Magical Negotiating Skills™?

62 Why can't Ned get over his addiction to mediocrity? The Dodgers would have been better served by letting DeWitt play 3B or even signing Crede for one year. Why in heavens would he add on a 3rd year to the deal when the Twins only offered 2 at $6 million per? There better be a discount for that third year.

With the market actually playing out in the Dodgers' favor, Colleti still can't help but resort to panicking. Sabathia is seemingly there for the taking if only we can make a serious offer; there isn't a big demand for Manny at the moment, and Furcal spurned his likely one and only 4-year offer.

Not to trivialize the nation's current economic malaise but that should not be an excuse for McCourt-Colletti to take advantage of rare leverage they have this offseason. After all, they still have to fill in a budget for a major market ballclub, albeit at a reduced amount, but they have the enviable (and continually ignored) resources to fill from within with young and inexpensive talent.

I have more faith in the Dodgers prospects' competency in performing at the major league level than I do with the organization's owners and GM doing the like in their decision-making roles.

I'm fine with Blake coming back, but then I would consider the infield complete. DeWitt to 2B, Hu to SS. If Furcal returns for more than a one-year deal, then that blocks DeJesus and puts Hu in utility infelder territory.

Colletti was chatty with reporters; Joel Sherman has more. The Dodgers have moved on from Derek Lowe and are past the possibility of Jason Varitek. C.C. Sabathia doesn't sound like a priority for Colletti, while Rafael Furcal remains on the radar. And of course a deal may be close with Casey Blake.

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a world where Beard is a priority and Sabathia is not. Good to know.

I suppose Ned worried that a two-year offer would drive him back to the Twinkies or maybe even Indians. Ned's playercrush on Blake has been ongoing since last summer, and I don't think anyone can really explain it, except that the alternatives look just as bad to him and the farm is rather bare.

When one writer complimented Colletti for being so media-friendly, Colletti replied, "I'm just doing it because I don't want to go out there and see Scott [Boras].''

81 How would you rank these infields for 09? (Assuming in each case Loney is the 1B, so need to repeat that each time here)

A)
2B - DeWitt
SS - Furcal
3B - Blake

B)
2B - DeJesus (Or B1: Hu)
SS - Furcal
3B - DeWitt (we won't have this one now, but...)

C)
2B - DeWitt
SS - DeJesus (or C1: Hu)
3B - deBlake

D)
?

What does it matter to Ned re: Manny? There's no chance he's signing until after the other big names are gone, so that Scott can sell urgency to the teams that missed out. If they truly refuse to go beyond 3 years, then Manny will either come crawling back or take a better offer.

82 Wouldn't it also be fair to say, though, that we live in a world where the Dodgers have multiple needs and CC Sabathia would cost around $140 million and thus negate filling anything else in? Not saying I wouldn't prefer to have Sabathia instead, as well, but aren't they apples and oranges?

87

Excellent point

I am going to refrain from any emotion about Blake until an actual deal is announced.

87 - Fair enough; I'm just frustrated to hear that we are not pursuing Sabathia. And that we're giving Beard 3 years. It's not correct to relate them to each other, though.

85 -- For 2009 alone? The answer is "A" without doubt. But starting in 2010? Different answer. I just don't see Furcal coming back on a one-year deal. He would have taken arbitration if that was even in the realm of possibility.

87 Thank you. This board has an itchy trigger finger when Ned is in the cross-hairs.

Committing 3yrs to a 35yr old Casey Blake has to be better than building Baseball Field #36 right?

Can't wait for three sub .750 OPS seasons at third base.

90 - they didn't offer. And I think he's just now figuring out he has no market.

The 2009 Dodgers have enough problems that signing Casey Blake represents a positive development for that squad.

Like others, I say too bad about that third year, and like others, I think we should wait and see what the deal is. 2/12 wasn't getting it done. I would have preferred 2/15 or 2/16, but if this ends up being, say, 3/18, is that really so bad?

On the other hand, if this is 3/24, we're going to have a problem in 2011.

If Furcal doesnt come back, this (Blake, Hu/Dewitt, DeJesus, Loney) could be the weakest hitting Dodger infield since 2003 (Beltre, Izturis, Cora, McGriff).

The difference being that I like DeJesus' upside much more than Cora's.

"I think if we can get Casey locked up it would be a huge piece for us," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "It keeps Blake DeWitt at second base. It gives us a solid third baseman who has character, is team-oriented and is a grinder. We love to have players like that."

Just because Casey is signing a 3 year deal does not mean he's our 3rd baseman for the next 3 years. With the A's pulling out of the Rafy sweepstakes maybe we have a shot at him. This would be my preference:
2009
2nd - DeWitt/Abreu/DeJesus
SS - Furcal
3rd - Blake

2010
2nd - DeJesus/Abreu
SS - Furcal
3rd - DeWitt with Blake helping out against tough LHP for any of Loney/DeWitt/Ethier

Six Million is alot for a backup 1st/3rd in 2010/2011 but it does give us some certainty in 2009. Not saying I'd do it but if he does it could still work out depending on the amount per year.

Ned LOVES "baseball players."

97

Sounds like the Beard is coming back.

According to Ken Rosenthal, David Eckstein is drawing interest from five teams as both a second baseman and shortstop

The little guy can do it all!

89 I am frustrated by that as well.

90 I agree, on both counts.

--

I really wish it was completely clear that Andruw Jones was either doner than done, or all the way back to usefulness. Since there's a glimmer of hope but very little in the way of expectation, we can't assume anything and this Manny becomes more important than he could have been. Too bad, too, there's no market for Juan Pierre.

97 I don't mean offense, but I'm getting kind of tired of those quotes. What is Ned supposed to say?

"Gee, I realize he's 35 and average at best, and I really really wish he hadn't insisted on that third year, but have you seen our infield for next year?" Ned Colletti didn't say. "It's Loney, and DeWitt somewhere, and that's it. Blake's not gonna kill us, and the money is going to be reasonable, so when -- not if -- he starts sucking, Joe will bench him and that'll be fine."

[99 101 - I'm almost surprised that we aren't listed, given that.

102
I can't imagine his bat speed is suddenly going to come back even if he is in better shape.

98 Too, he was mostly a right fielder in '05 and '06.

According to 13 Casey has been above the mean and median every year since he hit 30.

"96. JoeyP
If Furcal doesnt come back, this (Blake, Hu/Dewitt, DeJesus, Loney) could be the weakest hitting Dodger infield since 2003 (Beltre, Izturis, Cora, McGriff).

The difference being that I like DeJesus' upside much more than Cora's."

The 2005 Dodgers infield say's hi.

103 No offense taken, but I've grow weary of the gamer/grinder thing as an explanation for signing players.

97 If there's one thing I hate, it's a 3b without character.

109 I think we're all tired of that, but that's how Ned talks. It's not going to change.

Did Ned actually say that re: Blake?

As weak hitting as our infield is if we start Hu, the offense as a whole could be pretty solid if you brought back Manny/Raffy/Blake. Manny obviously won't hit to the same level, but is it unreasonable that every other position over a full season improved?

"I think if we can get Manny locked up it would be a huge piece for us," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "It gives us a solid left fielder who has character, is team-oriented and is a grinder. We love to have players like that."

Don't almost all GM's talk in that GM-Cliche-Speak though? Not to defend Ned, because I find much of it tiresome, too, but it seems pretty common and I'm beyond letting it get to me.

113 When I was an undergrad, I had an assignment in a History class to read through a decade of coaching-related press releases at my college. As a young historian, I concluded that for the past ten years, the college had issued one press release, only changing the names as needed.

113 Is that real or a quote from the D4P Times?

The last Dodger to be the Dodger "starter" on Baseball-Reference (leading the club in innings at the position) in consecutive years at 3B then 2B was Lenny Harris (1991 & 1992).

Other Dodgers to be a B-R "starter" at both 2B & 3B include Jackie Robinson, Jim Gilliam, and Jim Lefebvre.

DeWitt was the Dodgers' 3B in 2008, and if the other Blake returns DeWitt has a chance to join this semi-rarified air.

I am sure the D4P Times.

108
The 2005 Dodgers infield say's hi.

Hard to be a weak-hitting infield when your 2B posts a 133 OPS+.

116
The D4P Dispatch-Post-Journal-Courier-Picayune

Gurnick: CC told Ned he wants to be a Dodger.

http://tinyurl.com/5snbwk

43 - That really was a terrific article. My new goal in life is to buy a $100k car with a debit card.

121
That shows he is needy and is not a gamer.

121
I'm clinging to the "possibility" part of that post. Woo hoo!

119
Hard to be a weak-hitting infield when your 2B posts a 133 OPS+.

Obviously you don't remember Mike Edwards or Jose Valentine, anything Kent in 2005 did was negated by marginal AAAA players and washed up vets.

From Diamond Leung:

The Dodgers have offered Casey Blake a contract, and Colletti said he would do what it takes in terms of the length of the contract to get the deal done if possible.

Also, there's an article making the rounds where Bill Madden quotes an industry source as saying Greg Genske is "dead as an agent" if Sabathia ends up signing for $120MM.

Sounds like there's going to be considerable pressure from his agent (not just the union) to take the Yankee deal.

111
I actually like the Blake signing because it does two things.

1. It gives us a historically healthy 3B for 2009 at an (assumed) decent cost that will not hamstring us the way the Jones/Schmidt contracts did.

2. If we failed to sign another 3B and miss out on Hudson/Furcal, then we are assuming 1500 ABs for DeJesus/Abreu/LOOGY/HU fill in.

I just don't care about the money. It will not hinder us from making decisions in 2009-10 since the only contracts we have then will be our young guys and Kuroda/Pierre. If this deal hamstrings us, then it will be because Jamie and Frank are divorcing and dividing the assets up amongst themselves.

124 Man, that "Wants to be" line is going to sting so hard if the Dodger brass doesn't put forward the green. To let such a stud slip through your economic fingers.

If this deal hamstrings us, then it will be because Jamie and Frank are divorcing and dividing the assets up amongst themselves

Or because they stayed together and decided to buy another $50 million house.

130
Come on D4P, I know you must have several homes in the same area.

Should we take a poll? There's no way the Dodgers can afford both CC and Manny unless the latter agreed to a really short term deal, right?

So it comes down to:

1) Manny
or
2) CC

132 2

131
Maybe my second wife will be a beer heiress...

132 - I'd rather have CC. But I wouldn't mind Manny as long as the contract is of reasonable length.

132 CC. I MIGHT have said Manny but if it's true CC "wants to be a Dodger" then that's the guy I want.

130
...or two if the reports are to be believed.

132
50 baseball fields.

It has always been CC for me but don't think for a minute that his comment was not made with self interest in mind.

If I had to choose 4yrs of Manny or 4yrs of CC, I pick CC.

CC, Billingsley, Kershaw could keep the club competitive even if the offense was awful (which it probably would be).

With Manny, he's too old to committ years too & the Dodgers arent at the point where just signing Manny means they win in 2009. They need to build for the long-term & I think that means going all out for CC.

132 Neither is perfect. But I vote Manny. Can get him for a shorter term and Sabathia's weight combined with a 5/6 year deal scares me. I'd still prefer to make a play for Burrell or Dunn, but that doesn't seem to have any chance of happening.

125
Obviously you don't remember Mike Edwards or Jose Valentine, anything Kent in 2005 did was negated by marginal AAAA players and washed up vets

Dodger 1B in 2005 (mostly Choi & Saenz) put up a 100 sOPS+, meaning they were average relative to the league at 1B.

Collectively, the 2005 Dodger infield (every plate appearance as a 1B, 2B, 3B or SS) hit .270/.341/.423, a 101 OPS+.

The 2003 infield hit .249/.299/.376, a 79 OPS+.

The 2005 infield was much, much better at the plate than 2003 infield, and it's not even close.

From Rotoworld:

The Twins were the only other team known to have a two-year offer on the table to Blake, and they pulled it, making it an open question of just who the Dodgers are bidding against here. Most likely, it's themselves.

Hank: Yep.
Dale: Yep.
Bill: Yep.
Boomhauer: (Unintelligible)

121 Didn't the brass--Colletti, specifically--say that an offer to Sabathia would be made if C.C.'s camp said he was interested in playing for the Dodgers? I'm pretty sure I saw that quoted somewhere. Couple his reported interest with continued stalling in responding to the Yankee's offer and it looks like something can be worked out for C.C. Sabathia to pitch in Dodger blue next year. The question that remains is if McCourt is interested in sacrificing any more little league parks for such an opportunity.

129
I had some economic fingers at lunch today, but forgot to get honey mustard sauce.

Those who do not remember Mike Edwards are doomed to repeat Tripp Cromer.

145 Hopefully a rabid Steelers fan made an offer for your table to make up for it.

If we can sign CC and Blake, I feel like we will still be a competitive team. The "kids" will have to carry us but the lineup won't be terrible. I still think we need another pitcher though (Schmidt???).

Kemp
Martin
Ethier
Loney
Blake
Jones
DeWitt
Hu/DeJesus/Abreu

Sabathia
Billingsley
Kuroda
Kershaw
McDonald/Stults/Schmidt????

Thats not a great team but would certainly be a contender in the West and could be a tough team to beat in a 5 game series.

148 - Stults would be fine as a number five.

144 Yep.
(which works with)
143

(Boomhauer:) Yeah man, I tell ya what, man. Thatdangol'Internet,man. You just go on there and point and click. TalkaboutW-W-dot-W-com. An' lotsa nekkid chicks on there, man. Lotscrazybaseballrumorstoo, man. Click.Click. ClickClickClick. It'srealeasy,man.

147
I gotta say, I don't think that guy read the market very well.

148 - I'm actually upgrading Schmidt to only two "??" now. Maybe overly optimistic on my part but I feel he has the potential to even be down to one question mark by spring training.

150

Haha.

143 -- Teams bid not just against other teams but against time. Could we hold fast to a two-year offer at a fraction above the Twins' offer in dollars and tell Blake, "Here's the top offer you have received, combining length plus money. We refuse to bid more than we have to?" Sure, we could do that, and then Blake could say. "I'll keep my options open till late January and maybe you or another team will be desperate by then." In other words, we have to pay a premium to get the deal done NOW. And clearly, the Dodgers see resolving their third base issue as necessary before they move on to other things. There is nothing wrong with that. There would be no such thing as credit and interest rates if time did not have a monetary value.

Per Gurnick through the MLB Hot Stove blog:

...Ned Colletti Monday sounded cautiously optimistic about re-signing free-agent third baseman Casey Blake and was scheduled to meet soon with the agent for free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal.

Colletti said if he loses Blake, he would move Blake DeWitt to third base and probably sign a pair of free agent middle infielders to share second base and bolster the bench. Orlando Hudson apparently is not on his radar.

http://tinyurl.com/5phkd7

Where is the best place to get a player T-Shirt on the off-line world during the off season? The online shop doesn't seem to have the kind of shirt I usually buy at the stadium.

I seem to recall there being one or two team shops out and about (City Walk?), but I can never remember exactly where.

156 I think you may have to go to the stadium. They are open everyday.

I think Orlando Hudson not being on their radar, + Jack Wilson rumors being all but dead = happymaking, as far as I'm concerned. I'm fine with Casey Blake and either Raffy or the young guys instead, tellyouwhat, yep.

157 Please tell me parking is free.

Yeah. You have to check in with security at the Sunset gate. He will tell you where to go from there.

158 - I'm glad we're apparently missing out on Orlando Hudson. I did not trust that guy on a big contract. Decent bat, but his defense is sliding.

Now the question is to hold on to the dim hope of a big signing before I buy my next shirt or not.

Sajith Wickramasekara and Andrew Guo, both 17 and seniors at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, N.C., won the team prize for genetic research aimed at identifying new chemotherapy drugs.

And we thought we had problems with K/Guo.

163 http://tinyurl.com/56oqo2 should be appropriately linked.

162
Define "big".

24 Revision to 24. If you put in Casey Blake and take out Durham Marcels predicts a Dodger team line of .266/.330/.406 compared to last years .265/.333/.399. So, sign Blake you should score 705-715 runs, sign CC you should give up less than the 648 runs you gave up last year. Should be a 89-91 win team.

165 CC would be both definitions.

The Los Angeles Dodgers received a mixed report on closer Takashi Saito, who missed two months in the second half this season because of a sprained elbow ligament.

Saito's offseason rehabilitation program is going well, team doctors said, but he is not certain to be ready for the start of the season.

Because of that, the Dodgers will increase their search for another reliever. They could either slide Jonathan Broxton back into the closer's role and add a set-up man or bring in free-agent closer Trevor Hoffman, the all-time saves leader. --Gerry Fraley

http://tinyurl.com/5dee72

166 Is that run total with or with out Manny?

Anti-climatic Sports News of the Day:

Morten Andersen calls it quits
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3753844

163
I heard that was the original title to "Beetlejuice," but Geena Davis was having trouble saying Wickramasekara three times fast.

170
I thought he retired a few years ago!

169 Read 24

BH's exclusive scoop from Vegas!:

"[Rosenthal] is shorter than he seems on TV."

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, N.C.

4-5 blocks from our house.

173 I didn't want to. Lazy.

CC tells Colletti he wants to be a Dodger? Okay, then at least make SOME kind of offer.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3706479&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb

175
4-5 blocks from our house

You have given Shimmin too narrow a target. Well, it has been a good run.

The news seems better today. Optimism fills the air. Today we get Manny, Blake, Furcal and CC....I guess we will have to see what tommorrow brings (and takes away)

178
Why do you think he's fleeing the country?

At the Musse D'Orsay:

D4P: Avez-vous su que Andruw Jones gagne trop d'argent ?

177 meet 121 and ensuing discussion. We're crossing our fingers...

I really think that the Dodgers are posturing themselves to throw CC a big offer. Colletti is playing coy by stating that we may get involved in the CC sweepstakes. Look for us to undercut the Yankees initial offer a bit and keep our fingers crossed that they don't counter with a $200 million contract.

181 - I wouldn't ever suppose to be the FIRST to post a link regarding a Dodger news story in these hallowed environs. Happy to meet you, 121.

in honor of an impending Casey Blake signing and due to the popularity of the Ramirez Dreadlock hats I think we should start producing Casey Blake hats with an attached beard that doubles as a chin strap.

Anyone ever watch American Gothic? Just started getting into it.

183 Hah, yeah, you can't win for trying. But if at first you don't succeed, try, try... etc.

--

Hrm, tonight will be interesting, I may have to re-watch and review, and watch and review The Dark Knight and Zentropa (Europa) respectively. (Saw the latter years ago, not on DVD.) A dark evening.

185 -- Sure, and in the '90's I published an article in a magazine called Spectrum about why American Gothic was such a poor fit for CBS.

Have you watched The Trailer Park Boys' special yet? It wasn't that good.

180
Je ne dirais pas qu'il le gagne...

185 I watched it at The Art Institute of Chicago. Like other times when I've seen a very famous work of art, it revealed a lot more in person than in a reproduction. Grant Wood captured the expressions of the farmer and his wife with a...

...oh, you mean the old TV show.

187
Yeah, I often think how this show would never be on network television now.

I am probably going to watch Trailer Park Boys tonight or tomorrow.

188- C'est l'idiome de les Francais.

If Casey Blake hits his Marcel projection, I'll eat Andruw Jones's weight in pizza*.

(*It'll be an annuity, like the lottery. I think I could handle ten pounds of pizza a year for twenty-six years.)

Morgan Ensberg is still available, right?

187
I could not find your article online, but I did find a link to buy the magazine.

193 Okay, you lost me there.

Jim Rome used to giveaway 6-foot subs on his radio show in the 90s. "Six pounds of meat and cheese."

195- He's younger than Casey Blake. How about Eric Hinske? He played a little 3B, five years ago.

D4P at the Prado:

¿Usted sabía que Andruw Jones tiene un sueldo muy grande?

192 Blake only has to post a wOBA of .335. He has been above that the last 3 years.

198
Y un estomago, tambien.

How sad is it that getting a below average third baseman probably isn't a bad idea?

Peavy updates from MLBTR:

2:37pm: Joel Sherman learned from Towers that if he doesn't reach an agreement on a Peavy deal with the Cubs at the Meetings, he will keep the pitcher to start the season. The Dodgers are apparently the only other team to which Peavy has approved a trade.

Sherman adds that the Cubs "are willing to let [Peavy] keep his no-trade clause." Not sure if Sherman is trying to say the Cubs would replace Peavy's partial no-trade rights for 2011 and part of 2012 with full no-trade powers.

2:33pm: Kevin Towers told Ken Rosenthal he's talking to only the Cubs about Peavy. He expects to have a good idea on whether to drop it or move forward by the end of the Meetings. Towers approached Ned Colletti but talks didn't get far.

Ensberg last three season:
BA OPB SLG OPS+

2006: .235 .396 .463 120
2007: .230 .320 .404 88
2008: .203 .263 .243 34

Blake

2006: .282 .356 .479 114
2007: .270 .339 .437 101
2008: .274 .345 .463 110

Just sayin'. Difference in age means less to me right there than just what to expect out of each of 'em.

192 Ya, I don't get that comment. Is it really that unreasonable to ask him to put up a .265/.335/.440 line?

I think it may be that Andrew holds some sort of dislike towards Mr.Blake

Well, there's that, it's just that even if he doesn't decline he's an average hitter for a third baseman and below average defensively.

194 -- My article is in Spectrum #10. That issue also had Part 3 of a very extensive, very good episode guide for American Gothic by the magazine's publisher, Craig Miller. Craig is a friend of mine and we still talk on the phone. I got him interested in Canadian TV shows, and he ended up writing articles on Ken Finkleman and Don McKellar for Spectrum. He even interviewed both men and published the transcripts. Fantastic stuff.

Another BH Scoop!:

"tim [Kurkjian] from espn is a nice guy."

206 -- I can see the Dodgers having decided that Blake is an adequate bridge to Josh Bell, who is at least two years away from the majors and maybe three.

205 I think it's the beard. Might be a childhood trauma relating to a similar one, possibly involving a man who looks like Zoot from the Muppets.

207
I am on episode #6, which has Bruce Campbell!

154 That makes so much sense, that the Ned-bashers won't even bother reading it. I absolutely agree with you. If you are talking about saving $3-6 million over 3 years and locking up a piece of your infield for that time, it's worth it to do it now. As long as the deal is around 3/21 or so, I would be happy with it. The Dodgers have a lot of holes this offseason, and not everyone we bring in will be a stud.

Als, Blake has one season with a below .750 OPS in the past five years and that was .746. He has three seasons in that time frame with OPS above .800, including last season. I understand that people do not like Blake or Colletti, but let's look at facts before we make baseless predictions. There are not a lot of reasons to predict a serious drop in his production during his age 35, 36 and 37 season.

211
Apparently, the episodes were shown out of order, so that should not be #6.

There are always a lot of reasons to predict a serious drop in a baseball player's production during his age 35, 36, and 37 season.

212
Really? Most players do not drop production past 35? His numbers were much better in Cleveland than they were in LA.

MLB.com's Chris Haft talked to Randy Winn's agent Craig Landis, who said the Giants want to wait before seriously talking about an extension for his client. Winn is set to earn $8.25MM in '09, the last year of his deal. Brian Sabean wants to construct his team before looking seriously at the Winn situation.

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/12/giants_to_wait_on_extension_fo.html

Er........

214 Ya but you're suggesting it's so outragous for him to put up a .775 OPS. You are so confident in that fact that if he does so that you'd eat 250 pounds worth of pizza. I just don't see what you can say that would make your reasoning make sense other than your own personal issue's with Blake.

215 Wasn't Blake fighting a back injury during the last two months of the season?

I dared BH to use "consistent" at least three times in his conversation with Joe Morgan.

He wussed out.

GM says it "disappointed" and "betrayed" consumers is a top headline on Yahoo right now, and all this Tripon linking made me think it was about the winter meetings instead of a car company at first.

How odd for Ned to refer himself as 'it,' I thought.

220 Eerily, an ESPN top headline (I know the news is old, but the brevity shows the sensationalism of ESPN headlines):
GM: Sabathia wants to be a Dodger |

216
So Winn is hoping for an Encore after 2009?

If Blake becomes a long term Dodger, he'll need a nickname.

I have two suggestions:
Billy G. (frontman for ZZ Top)
4B (stands for Blake: Best Beard in Baseball)

Any other suggestions?

221
I wouldn't mind a bailout of the McCourts to help finance the deal.

223
It's just The Beard©

I hope Torre doesn't make him trim it (well, moreso than what he did this year).

225
Until he shaves and becomes this guy again.
http://outofthemill.blogspot.com/2008/04/casey-blake.html

222 I'm trying to figure out why the Giants would want Wynn back. They have Rowand, Lewis, and Nate Schierholtz. All either signed to long term contracts, or control for a number of years. Why would they extend Wynn?

214
True, but I only care about his age 35 year old season. I already expect him to be a backup in 2010/2011, thus ticking off the kids who have replaced him because they make squat putting up 500 at bats while he's getting butt calluses.

I made a crude team WAR calculation for the Dodgers team, based off of who is currently on the roster and empty roster spots filled with replacement level players. As players are added to the team via free agency/trades etc..., I will update the totals. Currently the total sits at 77.29 wins. So somehow the front office needs to add about 8-10 wins above replacement between now and the beginning of the season.
vr, Xei

The Giants would be better off moving Winn to CF and getting rid of Rowand.

227
Did that come up via a Google image search, or did you know of that blog? I have a beef with that guy.

215 So wait, you are willing to dismiss his .830 OPS in 325 AB earlier in the year, and use the .773 OPS in 211 AB with the Dodgers as an indication that his production will drop in the next three years. That does not reconcile.

217- I think you're reading way too much into what I said. If I were as confidant as you seem to think, I'd put up a kidney for stakes (I've done it before). What I promised to do was eat nearly a pound of pizza every month for the foreseeable future. Really, the most ambitious part about it is expecting to live the full 26 years.

"We would have loved to have Jason Varitek," Colletti said. Colletti indicated he had been interested in signing him as a mentor Russell Martin, but it would have cost too much.

I think Russell Martin would object of losing playing time to his 'mentor.'

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

229- I get that, but I don't like it. If you know going into that you're going to be looking for a different 3B next year, same bat time, same bat station, why would you sign up to give beardy twenty million bucks?

This is kind of an easy one, but during the Maddux press conference Scott Boras noted Greg & Mike Maddux have the 3rd highest brother win combo, with 394.

Can you name the other 2 sets of brothers?

237 Cy Young and his brother?

Niekros and Perrys.

Isn't letting Bob answer these like letting Albert Pujols play in your co-ed softball league?

239
http://tinyurl.com/6fqd3o

I don't think Bob can pick up co-eds like Albert Pujols can.

The Martinezes?

Or those Russian pitchers, the... whatsit, Karamazov?

While I think it's prudent for McCourt to be tight with the purse strings given how Colletti burned him with his previous free agent expenditures (Pierre, Jones, and Schmidt), but I think it would be a missed opportunity to pass on signing C.C. Sabathia.

Sabathia looks to be the best FA pitcher available on the market for the next few years and securing him should solidify the Dodgers' pitching rotation quite a while. Billingsley, Kershaw, and Elbert would have someone to emulate and take pressure off of them much like how Manny helped Kemp, Ethier, and Loney.

Yes, he is on the heavy side but C.C. is tall, athletic--more so than Thunder Thighs, anyway--and has a zeal for hitting. Half-jokingly, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up performing better in the 9th slot of the batting order than, say Juan Pierre in the 8th.

I'm also confident that if his weight does become more of a concern, he will address it as best he can by following the advice of the training staff unlike Andruw Jones being comfortable with the extra layers on his body. By all accounts, he's a stand-up guy and respected teammate.

He is not represented by Boras and would be a welcome alternative to waiting on "Manny being Manny" with his current 2-year offer. He has also expressed in inclination towards playing for the Dodgers and, while he won't come cheap, McCourt will not have to pay as much as the Steinbrenners to lure him to the West Coast.

This is a chance for McCourt to continue on the progress from last year and to follow through on his lip service of how he is committed to bringing a World Series championship to Chavez Ravine. He better make good on that.

For what it's worth, TJ says the Dodgers are not close to signing Casey, but it still looks like a probable outcome.

Two industry sources here at the Bellagio have confirmed the Boston Red Sox are in discussions with the New York Mets about catcher Brian Schneider, a further indication the Red Sox are preparing for the departure of captain Jason Varitek.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/baseball-insider/2008/12/red_sox-mets_talking_deal_for.html

Maybe Varitek can can then go to the Mets, and the Red Sox pick up two juicy draft picks.

244 I predicted about a month back that CC would sign with the Dodgers. I still believe that. It would probably take something like 6/125, and I think the Dodgers will sign him.

Los Niekros - 539
Los Perrys - 529

The Brothers Mathewson had 373 wins between them.

Los Hermanos Martinez - 349 wins and counting?

Dizzy and Daffy only had 200. If D4P ever gets a time machine, he's going to go back and right the wrong of their having gotten famous.

Go figure, according to B-R, Christy Mathewson and Old Friend Jack Billingham are cousins.

Good thing we don't have a rating system here. I just got rated out of the comment section at BP after making fun of the useless BP coverage of the winter meetings. Did you guys know CC is big?

233
No, just saying his 800 OPS season came because of far better production on a different team that has a reputation for being a better hitters park.

I think he will not be good, because of his age and it is not like he has been an elite player that can compensate. Plus, his defense is not going to get better, while some believe (because of defensive metrics) that it sucks already.

I would try to avoid any player in their mid-thirties, that is not elite, unless I plan to use them as a one-year stop gap.

208 I saw him give a talk at the Smithsonian. He did seem very nice!

(gotta burnish those DC credentials every now and then you see)

254 Fair enough. I think considering all the alternatives, including trades for someone like Beltre, Colletti did well to sign Blake. He is not spectacular, but he is not cripplingly expensive, and I do think that he will be a good signing for us, as long as we did not go beyond 3/21 for him.

256
35-ish minutes or so ago, Dylan Hernandez reported...

Third baseman Casey Blake has received an offer for a three-year contract from the Dodgers that would pay him close to $6 million per season, according to sources with knowledge of the situation

The Twins offer was believed to be 2/14 with a 3rd-year option. 3/18 or so doesn't sound too bad.

http://tinyurl.com/65hn3y

247 I predicted the same thing but my faith in that waivered mightily with the lack of noise coming from the Dodgers' camp and the subsequent little league ballparks comment by the female half of the McCourt connection. Let's hope for all our sakes that you will be proven right in that regard.

257
Plus, there is the scary element that we don't bother to upgrade the third base position after next season, because we think we got it locked up for next couple of years.

It's not as scary when you see the only useful third baseman out there until 2011 is Beltre.

260
Be creative. Elevate minor league talent level so that we can afford to trade to acquire a good third baseman.

I believe the picture in the link in 257 is from the 9th inning of Game 4 of the NLCS. I looked through the game logs of all the Phillies' games at Dodger Stadium, and that was the only time Utley was forced at 2B.

Ryan Howard was the batter and the shift was on; hence Blake covering 2B (the only game he played at 2B for LA was against Arizona).

Wow, do I feel stupid. This is at the bottom of the link in 257 .

Photo: The Dodgers' Casey Blake tags out the Phillies' Chase Utley during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 13 at Dodger Stadium. Credit: Harry How / Getty Images

I am a dork.

257 Thanks for the update. I agree, 3/18 is not a bad deal at all.

Any USC baseball fans know if Grant Green is going to have signing issues and if he could play third?

263 He played 2B in Game 5 of the ALCS as well.

265
Never draft for need! Always take the best player available.

Grant Green is very good though. He would easily be best available player if he dropped to us.

Isn't Grant Green the 2nd best player in the draft? I can't see him falling all the way down to the lower twenties.

I still like the idea of signing Teixeira. Trade Looney, etc. to San Diego for Peavy.

269
That is why I am wondering if he has the Boras factor.

270 SD has no need for Loney and they would want much much more than that anyway.

Not that I'm complaining since I still think DeWitt is an under-rated option at 3B, but wasn't it reported that Blake's agent said that whichever team offered 3 years would be the one to sign his client. Now I know it's basically second-hand information being cited and it may very well turn out as the agent proclaimed, but with the Twins pulling out of negotiations and the Dodgers the only team reportedly offering 3 years, what is the delay with the decision given the aforementioned "promise"? Assuming all that we know is true, how can agents (other than Boras) not be held accountable for such a ploy?

271 Yeah, but Seattle picks 3rd, the Mariners have as much money as the Dodgers do.

273
Ned is desperate. Let's face it, he has to operate to try to max out next season to save his job.

273 It could be any number of things from a no-trade clause, to number of tickets per season to free use of the McCourts pool to waiting for Blake's wife to join them in reading the contract to Blake's agent lost in a VIP room at Spearmint Rhino. I wouldn't read too much into it, but obviously, with any contract, it ain't signed until it is signed.

Anyone excited by the ESPN.com story that CC tells Coletti he wants to be a Dodger? maybe posturing but this is one free agent I am optimistic about so I am definately excited.

275 , 276 Both very good posits. Thanks, gentlemen.

277 I knew ESPN would grab at least one person! We're going to see the Yahoo Auto headline soon enough.

272
Still like Teixeira.

Realize that Peavy will take more than just Loney. SD can move him on.

We could add a Bob Zimmermann, a Tripon, and a Weisman :) :)

280

Actually the world needs more good Reference Librarians. We should keep Zimmermann. :)

From TJ:

The deal is believed to be for three years and about $17 million and could be announced as soon as tonight. Beat writers are meeting with Colletti in his suit in about 90 minutes, so there could be something announced at that time. Stay tuned.

282 refers to Casey Blake, in case that wasn't clear.

280 I have no idea why I'm mentioned with two men I have a very high opinion of. =P

Can Bob Zimmerman play third as good as his presumed brother? That would solve the Casey Blake issue.

279. I just entering this informational world. Im sure you a refering to the fact that it was probably The Fab Forum that broke that right?

282 Beat writers are meeting with Colletti in his suit in about 90 minutes

Wow, that could get awkward fast.

286 Check out 221 and 222 for my headline musings.

287
At least they aren't meeting him inside his cowboy boots.

Thank goodness for "Refresh." I had 285 and 287 all lined up, and was able to avoid the embarrassment of being a post late and a pun short.

So basically the difference is a third year of Casey Blake for 3 million.

Twins offered 2/14 and the Dodgers get him for 3/17.

–A baseball person very familiar with free-agent CC Sabathia's thinking believes the left-hander does not want to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox and instead prefers to either remain with the Brewers or return to his native California and sign with either the Dodgers or Giants so he can stay in the National League.

What the heck does 'a person very familiar with his thinking' means? A telepath who is able to read C.C.'s thoughts? A guy paid to read tea leaves? A guy overhearing a conversation he had with his agent?

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1119

290 I think the Timmerman one should have read "as well," but I graduated and will never think of grammar ever again.

Unless it has to do with a lack of an 'e' in "suite," then I'll jump over it.

I like the phrase "Colletti in his suit". I don't doubt Ned literally has a suit that he breaks out for these occasions.

292
Person that works the drive-thru at In N Out in Fairfield.

292 - I guess it beats a person "familiar with the Dodgers line of thinking". This would qualify as speaking to the player's wife for Jon Heyman.

280 No way this guy helps us get Peavy. I know Petco is a pitcher's park, but I just think they may need a little better.

http://tinyurl.com/66be3f

291 If this turns out to be true, then I'd have to give Colletti credit for securing such a reasonable deal and using the current market landscape to his advantage. We'll have to wait and see if such kudos end up being deserved.

294 - With the money Colletti paid for that suit, the McCourts could have built 0.1% of a youth baseball field. Or .002% of a beach house.

294 I like the phrase "Colletti in his suit". I don't doubt Ned literally has a suit that he breaks out for these occasions.

With a white tie and white shoes.

300
Do I smell mothballs...?

207 I recognize the name Don McKellar. I really enjoyed "Last Night," which I happened upon quite by accident.

As for The Beard, I could live with 3y/$17 mil. Not bad for a serviceable #6 or #7 hitter.

Madddux officially announces retirement and goes out with class. Watch video snippet through following link:

http://tinyurl.com/5dwy6u

MiLB.com calls the guy referenced above as Rob Zimmermann. He's a St. Louisan, which doesn't surprise me much with that spelling.

303
There's a longer link (30 minutes) on the MLB.com website. It's a fun watch, with Maddux answering a number of questions.

You are right, he exudes class.

291 Looking at it that way, I don't feel as nauseous about the third year. Thanks.

306
But often, years are worse than amount of money per year.

305 Thanks, Eric. I'll check out the video on MLB.com.

308
Here is the link to the article. The video is the first link at the top:

http://tinyurl.com/54r4no

307 Blake never impressed me, and I don't like the deal at three years. By 2011 he'll probably be another Nomar, playing for a week before pulling his whatsit and going on the 60-day DL. But then I'll just tell myself, hey, it's just three mill and a few Dream Fields down the tubes.

Brown saying the Jays make get involved with Furcal.

Per Jayson Stark, ESPN.com:

But he did say that Peavy and his agent, Barry Axelrod, have made it clear to the Padres that the 27-year-old righthander has no interest in expanding the list of cities that Peavy is willing to waive his no-trade clause to play in.

So that means this story is now as clear as the 9,000 glass doors that lead you into or out of the Bellagio, where the winter meetings are unfolding this week in all their casino-laden glory.

Either Jake Peavy is going to be traded to the Cubs real, real soon. Or he's going to be staying in San Diego. Period.

http://tinyurl.com/6s3r8f

Regardless of what Towers is trying to convince everyone else, I still say that if the deal with the Cubs does not work out, the Dodgers are a possibility since we/they are exempt from the no-trade clause and ownership might just be reluctant to even pay the $7 million dollars for the upcoming season (through the trade deadline) for a team going nowhere for the foreseeable future.

Towers can hold out for as long as he can but in the end, he'll likely have to swallow his pride and just come back to the Dodgers with a more reasonable request of prospects. This assumes, of course, that the Dodgers haven't already secured a big free agent signing by then.

309 Much obliged. Thanks again.

312
Let's give them our cruddy college draftees like Adkins and Russell. Depo loves those. ; )

314 DePo also loves James Loney.

Although, that is one thing I do wonder about a team's drafting college players vs. high school players. Does a team like the A's worry that they can't develop enough high school players to help the big league team?

Two different National Football League sources - one of them close to the Fords - insist that the Millen firing earlier this season was just a ploy to appease angry fans of the 0-13 Lions and that Millen is still calling the shots and on the club's payroll as a consultant. One NFL scout acknowledged that this rumour is making the rounds through the league and that while he couldn't absolutely confirm it, it wouldn't be shocking news to many in the football world. "It wouldn't surprise me at all," he said. Added another NFL personnel type: "Whoever is calling the shots, they're doing a terrible job at it."

There is a worse franchise than the Oakland Raiders.

http://communities.canada.com/windsorstar/blogs/duffersdabbles/archive/2008/12/08/is-millen-still-calling-the-shots-for-the-lions.aspx

315
A's have drafted decent number of high school arms.

317 I see, I suppose the whole high school vs. college thing is overblown.

Also, apprently there is no market for Jack Wilson's services.

292 Not just ANY telepath, but a precog. Ned has him on loan from the Washington DC Precrime division. McCourt was tired of seeing his wallet being murdered and spent the extra bucks to help his GM not give into anymore bad contracts.

By the way, does anyone know what happened to Mark Prior? Didn't he sign with the Padres for 2 years? I don't think he ever pitched for them on the Major League level though(?) What a shame. He had so much going for him. Of course if he was frugal, he should have a nice stash of millions some where.

NBC gave Jay Leno a 10pm show. Three straight talk shows everyday? Insanity.

320
Don't forget the 11pm news!

or carson daily...or will they be ending that failed experiment

or carson daily...or will they be ending that failed experiment

or carson daily...or will they be ending that failed experiment

Scott Boras requested a meeting with the Dodgers for Tuesday, presumably to discuss Manny Ramirez. Earlier on Monday, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti had publicly expressed puzzlement over why Ramirez's side hadn't responded to the club's two-year contract offer last month or to their offer of arbitration last week.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3755972&type=blogEntry

This is a shameless plug (and an inferior ripoff of Cardboard Gods), but I recently started a blog looking at baseball, et al, through the eyes of the 1987 Donruss baseball card set.

Today's post is about recent retiree and Old Friend Greg Maddux.

http://tinyurl.com/5ffflg

I want to know what happened in Ned's suit earlier this evening.

325 The Dodgers appear to be inching toward re-signing free agent Casey Blake. The hang-up continues to be whether the Dodgers are willing to guarantee a third season. They already are believed to have a two-year offer on the table, as do the Twins.

The link provided states that the third year of that 3-year deal may not actually be guaranteed. If so, that would explain by bewilderment in 273 of why a deal has not been signed yet.

I should email Ned and tell him I'm available to play third. I'm a gamer, and I'm even smaller than Pedroia and Eckstein--so I'd immediately have street cred. Plus, I'd do it for $100K and a dog-sitter. And season tickets in the blue reserve section for everyone on Dodger Thoughts.

326-I wish someone had made an Obama "Rated Rookie" card after the democratic convention in 2004.

326
Now I get why that blogger is your enemy.

331
I sent him some cards as a trade, then he disappeared and never sent me mine. It's a matter of principle.

332
Damn, that is weak as hell. What a punk.

330
You'll have to settle for these cards instead:

http://tinyurl.com/6yka4e
http://tinyurl.com/566vkj
http://tinyurl.com/6a44s3
http://tinyurl.com/6jzwko

333
Something may have happened to him though so I'm not terribly mad. He stopped posting in May. I'm not that mad, because I knew the risk going in and the cards weren't really valuable or anything.

I should look to see if I still have some of my baseball cards. I had ones from that series, I think.

326 I should be able to help you on that list of 1977 Topps cards. I'll be at my mom's over Christmas, where the cards are still kept, so I'll let you know then.

Who wins this trade..

Brand + Al Thorton for Gasol + Quentin Richardson?

Brand and Al Thorton, in my opinion....

Quentin is a one trick pony. He's bound to go ice cold. Gasol's numbers are beastly, though. Who would have figured his rebounds would increase with Bynum in the lineup?

Brand is a solid, solid force and Thornton will get minutes and lots of run in garbage time against bad defenses.

339

See..I have Brand + Thorton and i was offered the other two and I am so sick of Brand. He has been quite the bust for being my first round pick. And Richardson's one trick is the only thing I am really lacking on my team.

338 - depends on your league, IMO. I'm in a league that really values shots and 3p attempts.

The weird thing, I learned more about the winter meetings from people on DT than the other way around.

I'll add there is an interesting collection of people at Bellagio, you have, of course, media (print, tv and radio), front office personnel, managers (I saw one), players (I heard some were there), former players and managers, fans and vendors. The annual Rodeo is in town, so lots of Western hats. And you have the Vegas tourists.

The weird thing, I learned more about the winter meetings from people on DT than the other way around.

I'll add there is an interesting collection of people at Bellagio, you have, of course, media (print, tv and radio), front office personnel, managers (I saw one), players (I heard some were there), former players and managers, fans and vendors. The annual Rodeo is in town, so lots of Western hats. And you have the Vegas tourists.

343 sorry about that.

In which Saito & CC are discussed:

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/

blake? i was sorta thinking the dodgers might do something to get jorge cantu... i'm not saying he's spectacular, but he'd be better than average as a hitter. blake is average. and that's without his next three birthdays.

345 Sorry. That's just regurnickated material. My bad.

345 - that'd be surprising to non-tender Saito, I can't imagine doing that unless they really think he's out.

From Tony Jackson:

>> Sabathia update
Colletti cleared up a misunderstanding after it was widely reported that left-hander CC Sabathia, the top free-agent pitcher on this year's market, had told him he wants to pitch for the Dodgers. What Colletti actually said was that Sabathia had made the Dodgers aware, not directly but through conversations with third parties, that he had a desire to pitch for them.
Sabathia's failure to accept a six-year, $140 million offer from the New York Yankees, an offer that has been on the table for about three weeks, seems to indicate that he has no desire to pitch in New York. Sabathia grew up in Vallejo and recently purchased a home in Southern California, facts that might indicate the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are the two clubs with the inside track.
However, the Dodgers are highly unlikely to sign Sabathia until they have a complete infield because given Sabathia's price tag, signing him might deplete the club's financial resources to the point that other needs couldn't be adequately addressed.
Colletti did say Sabathia is enticing enough that the Dodgers would be willing to break from their recent tradition of offering no more than a three-year contract to any pitcher. <<

http://insidesocal.com/dodgers/

"It'll be a tough call," said general manager Ned Colletti. "The last time he needed to pitch, he couldn't pitch. Is he healthy since then? We don't know. It's a serious situation."

I realize this is quote is somewhat incomplete, but the way Ned talks here it is almost as if he or the Dodgers haven't talked with Saito or his agent since the Dodgers were eliminated. Given his record for the Dodgers and his bargin price as a closer, you would think Ned would have a far more detailed report about Saito....Dodgers and injuries, I never feel you get an accurate answer.

348
What is your side hearing about Morrell Presley?

ESPN is running a scroll at the bottom that says Blake has signed for 3yrs/17 mils.

Seems like 1yr too long, but with no 3b available why not?

352
Isn't that the thinking that got us Juan Pierre?

346 You mean, Jorge Cantu, "the Human Lawn Statue" (or garden gnome)?

http://www.fishstripes.com/2008/12/1/676538/jorge-cantu-human-lawn-sta

(Just thought that post was funny...)

He's got some pop and is younger than Blake but I can't say I'm a huge fan. And he's not a FA and so they'd ask the Dodgers for too much for him.

Call me crazy but that really doesn't seem like a ton of money. This signing doesn't offend me now, but check back with me in 2 years.

353 five years, 44 million, 9 million a year for Pierre. Blake seems a bargain by comparison. At least he's reliable. After two years if he's on the bench, as he should/will be, I don't think they'll mind paying for that last year at that point.

351 - still committed to SC, but it's not a sure thing anymore, I think 50/50, 60/40 at best he sticks with us. His dad said something like "he's committed to SC unless/until you hear differently." Doesn't look great. Conversely heard some good news for us re: Randall Carroll.

Pete's in home is tonight with MP. It's complicated b/c he's an early enrollee.

Dodgers sign Mark Loretta to a 1 year deal, per Gurnick

$1.4 million - Gurnick says he gets the Nomar role.

Mark Loretta?

Gurnick says its a done deal. I'm guessing platoon with DeWitt?

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

358
DeWitt's new platoon buddy.

So I guess no more Nomar. I don't mind Loretta as a bench player and to be honest, as much as I like Nomar, Loretta would be more durable (who wouldn't?). Just don't want him full-time starting, though.

320

Are any of you worried about the gradual trimming of Scripted TV across all the networks?

We need scripted TV to provide a freedom of creativity and expression. Sometimes I worry that if TV continues on this path, the most popular show on TV will be the one where a guy tries to avoid getting shot for a billion dollars.

Not a terrible move I guess.

354: yeah, i know. i mean, cantu's defensive reputation isn't stellar. and i know they'd have to trade something to get him... but he's available, from what i read. and signing the beard means we lose a 2nd round pick (i think blake is a B free-agent, so we'd have picked up a pick if somebody else would've signed him...) essentially, i don't think cantu would cost us more than a 2nd round pick...

Sure, why not? As long as Torre doesn't make him a regular starter.

363
Network television continues to get worse and worse, which does not help. TV will end up like it is in Idiocracy at some point.

363 - I was worried about that greatly for awhile but it seems like scripted shows then started to make a comeback and some reality TV has fallen off a bit. Not nearly as much as I'd like, however. My prediction was that people would tire of some of the reality trend, and they have a bit but again not as fast as I'd hoped. But quite a few of the top rated shows are still scripted.

And with that, I bid y'all good night so I can watch whatever reality show is on Bravo and VH-1. No, I kid, I kid.

367 "Ow! My Balls!" will probably appear on TV much quicker than predicted there. We're already drinking flavored faux water drinks more than ever.

Loretta is a solid signing. Good OBP, good defense. Pretty much the ideal reserve player.

My friend sees Nomar a lot at this bar in Manhattan Beach and he is there now. I told him that we just got his replacement, so my friend is going to go talk to him.

370 Couldn't agree more. It's a significant, insignificant signing.

Colletti quotes...

On Pitching:

"You always want a strong No. 1 starter," Colletti said. "But we might have one in Billingsley and we have another guy, who's a babe in the woods (Kershaw), who has that type of ability. We think Billingsley will be a strong 2 next year, at least."

On Shortstops:

Colletti did say prospect Ivan DeJesus Jr. was not ready yet, but that he would be comfortable with Angel Berroa if he could find enough offense elsewhere.

On the Offense:

"We hope that our young guys continue to progress," Colletti said. "Andre Ethier came on. James Loney was consistent and I think his power is going to come. Matt Kemp, you have to remind yourself that he's only played baseball seven years, and even though you get frustrated with him, you see the numbers.

http://tinyurl.com/5amxb7

Kemp had better numbers than Loney. Why is he frustrating, but Loney is consistent?

meh not a fan of the casey blake signing. i feel his defense will get even worse as he ages. why couldn't we save that 6mil toward cc and play dewitt 3rd and try out hu/abreu(?) 2nd...i'm thinking we can resign furcal too obviously.

374 - Watching him play center field every day is probably going to take 10 years off my life.

373 - Angel Berroa? Isn't Hu on the same level, more or less?

374 Consistent approach to hitting. Loney looking to line drive something, Kemp goes up there to either hack at a ball, or seems to learn some patience, and then switches over again to hacking.

374
Baserunning. Bad jumps. But the glass is clearly half-full.

They seem to think Loney needs to relax and Kemp needs to be pushed??

Isn't Berroa a non-tender candidate? Or are the Dodgers willing to pay him $3.5 million to play Shortstop for 80 games?

Loney certainly wasn't consistent. He was very streaky. That was his problem. Stretches in which he would hit like Ted Williams would be followed by ones in which he was completely lost at the plate.

374 No but, don't you see, Loney had 90 RBIs. Kemp only had 76. Big difference.

Mueller, Nomar, Loretta, Manny...

Ned is building a former batting title collection. Freddy Sanchez is next!

I don't get this addressing the infield first madness. If you bring back Berroa, then you almost have to grab Manny. I guess they could sign another OF, but you are looking a putrid offense with Hu/Berroa at SS, Blake at 3b, and Kemp/Ethier/Manny/Jones in the OF.

We have a lot of holes. Why doesn't Ned just make the right moves as they come along, regardless of order? This is like drafting for need, and makes no sense to me.

382 Yes, the difference is that Loney batted 4th, 5th, and 6th. While Kemp batted 1st, and 6th, and 7th.

I worry they just have this perception of Kemp and will never get over it.

The Detroit Tigers are out of the Jack Wilson scenario.

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be waning.

If you mean the Dodgers were never in it to begin with, sure.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08344/933813-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml

382 No but, don't you see, Loney had 90 RBIs. Kemp only had 76. Big difference.

That's because Kemp hit leadoff.

The Dodgers remain in need of a shortstop and, persistent reports out of Los Angeles to the contrary, reignited talks about Wilson last week. But there was been no known continuation over the weekend or at these meetings.

Is that a shot at Tony Jackson?

385 Twas just a joke, albeit a bad one. Maybe they think Kemp needs to concetrate better?

NPUT