The Gospel According to the Toaster.

I just tossed up a link. Jon's post made me appreciate the life that is Steve Colyer.

ps - anybody know how many innings pitched were logged by left handed pitchers and right handed pitchers in all of MLB in 2005? I'm interested in knowing the split. Bob probably has it memorized.

I'm still trying to find the best link for a bulldozer.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09280SFN2003.htm

Too bad that Wilson Alvarez had given up 7 runs in the first two innings.

But Colyer was dominant for the next two innings!

will be watching for that bulldozer pic. can't believe the oswalt article didn't have a better shot of the darn thing, Astros logo and all.

Washburn to Seattle is official.

(not perfect for morning commute though; only 7.1 mpg)

How about some other former Dodger prospects like Hiram Bocachica or one of my all time favorites, Luke Prokopec.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051219&content_id=1284409&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

The only thing that can save this decision (of axing the productive Choi/Saenz platoon), is if Jose Cruz JR has a career season, meaning 30+HR's and 800+OPS.

Nomar looks like a defensive liability at 1st. I hope he can stretch for those wayward throws without hurting his groin, and that he learns to dig out throws at 1st.

This is a disappointing day, but a day that has been foreshadowed after the awful Milton Bradley trade.

The only good news is izturis is out of a job.

But with the offense not as good as it could be, ned needs to get 2 starting pitchers, and i don't care if it costs money or blocks prospects(which it won't because odalis is totally tradable after this season).

We are going to need better than 1 of billingsley, jackson, houlton in our rotation, and please no tomko types, we need a couple top pitchers.

CF is downgraded: Bradley>>>Lofton
1st is downgraded: Choi/Saenz>>>>Nomar
SS is upgraded: Furcal>>>Izturis
3b is upgraded: Mueller>>>Valentin

Starting pitching has yet to be addressed.

Eh nothing gives me alot of confidence with this new regime. If anything, we've downgraded at two positions, in which were also somehow paying more money too also.

Makes no sense.

Shades of late 1990''s-Pre DePo 2000's.

Maybe Jon or Steve have a more upbeat perspective.

Replace lofton with choi/seanz and its pushing powerfull, but not enough for both billingsley and jackson, billingsley only, yes, but not both.

Come on oldbear, you seem to not recognize the fact that all these veteran contracts are short-term deals, and none block the kids on the farm. And although I saw Choi as the better option at 1B, I doubt the difference between Choi and Nomah will mean much of anything. And there is at least some chance that Nomah could be quite a bit better than Choi.

Anyhow, what really keeps our team from true championship contention is our starting pitching, and none of the free agents available could have fixed that problem. We have to wait for the prospects to come up to do that, and Ned has made sure to get the stars aligned to let that happen by not making stupid trades.

And I for one don't mind the current regime's willingness to spend a bit more on veterans to protect the kids on the farm, as long as the contracts are all short term and don't compromise the franchise's long-term future.

WWSH

It's quite possible, in fact, that Hee Seop Choi is this year's Alex Cora. Meaning, once Nomar starts playing, the idea that anyone would argue for Choi over him will seem quaint.

It's hard to let go of the dream.

Comparing Jeff Kent replacing Cora/Hernandez is a real stretch.

Nomar has a high standard to uphold at 1st.

I hate to see Choi go, but maybe a fresh start is what he needs. Away from the Jim Tracies of the world. I think Boston might be the perfect fit. Wouldn't it be ironic if both he and Nomah have great seasons? And it'd be fitting if that happens while Tracy languishes in Pittsburgh.

There might be a nice storyline for Nomah--local kid comes home to try to resurrect his career. I for one will root for him to have a monster season, but I'll also make sure to root for Choi, except when he plays the Dodgers.

The farm looks like it'll be intact, and Canuck might be right, maybe EJ will figure it out, and Bills could be a nice surprise. I like how Ned has stayed away from the contracts given to Burnett and his like. Tomko could be a good bet for the right price.

Players come and go, but hope springs eternal.

WWSH

Ned has built an average club without losing key prospects. The club's success in a weak division will turn mostly on how often the injury bug bites. Of course Depo did the same thing for less money in 2005, but was very unlucky (I also didn't like the Valentin signing, but that's water under the bridge now). Hopefully by 2007 the prospects will mature enough to build a serious contender.

Jackson is a wild card when it comes to predicting his 2006 performance, I admit. His problems have been mostly centered around a lack of confidence, and the only cure for that is facing major league batters. I can see him following a Brett Myers early MLB career path. Myers had an ERA of 5.52 in his first full major league season, in 2004. One year later, most of you would sell your souls to have Myers on the Dodgers. Jackson has a better fastball than Myers, and at least equal potential. His upside is worth putting up with some rough outings as a #5 guy next year.

A lot of you seem absolutely intolerant of having to withstand even a little bit of pain to receive long term gain. I guess a lot of fans are like that. But it is the job of the Dodgers' front office people, as professionals, to take longer views, and resist the fans' appetite for instant gratification.

nomar cruz drew outfield choi/seanz 1b
vs
lofton cruz drew outfield nomar 1b

On the Choi thing, the Dodgers.com article reminded me of your earlier comments about how the arbitration system makes works against re-signing your own players. The Dodgers might want to re-sign Choi, but may non-tender because he can get more in arbitration than they would offer. But someone else may then sign him at that same lower price -- not predicting how it'll play out, but the brief comment on this in the article called the issue to mind.

I'm not sure it's fair to compare Mueller to the monstrosity perpetrated against 3B by DePo/Tracy last year. It's not like there was any way porn 'stache was coming back, and every AB Edwards got is on Tracy. Compare Mueller to what Aybar would put up (no point quoting his 2005 numbers). Still a likely upgrade, but not nearly so steep a difference. Unless you weight it by salary.

Agreed, but with that comparison, you need to take into account the potential that Lofton's possibly superior OF defense vs. Nomah in LF may make up partly for some of the potential discrepancy between his bat and a Choi/Saenz platoon. Nomah isn't a natural 1B, but I do think it's easier for him to play that position than LF, just because it's still in the IF. Choi was a big target at 1B, but his defense is statistically just average at that position. Also, Lofton posted a Rate2 in CF last season of 109. His career mark is 105. And Lofton's EqA of .288 was better than Choi's .275 mark last season. Choi has serious upside IMO, while Lofton is getting long in the tooth, so this is not the path I'd have chosen, but I don't think Ned's decision is indefensible either, and I certainly don't think this off-season has somehow been a failure.

WWSH

i wonder what the correlation is between scruff and scrap?

After a team signs a FA, do they have to keep him a certain amount of time before being able to turn around and trade him? I know the NBA has some sort of rule about this, but what about MLB?

If Koreans are like Chinese, he'd just look more ridiculous if he didn't shave. I'm in my mid-20s, and I couldn't even grow a respectable mustache, much less a rugged-looking Darin Erstad scruff on my face.

WWSH

Thanks. With the amount of guys we have signed and may sign, I was just pondering the possibilities of moving some of them sooner or later if things hit the wall. Looks like we could do that before the trading deadline.

On the other hand, if we're really sailing along, we might be able to pick up someone from a team who wasn't doing well.

And re: arbitration - that's right.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-baseballrdp&prov=ap&type=lgns

Long term, though, the draft picks are more valuable in my view. Weaver wouldn't have been the difference maker next season in the rotation, anyhow.

WWSH

I doubt he'll be signed though.

I know DT posters might be sick of hearing about Choi, but he epitomizes what DePodesta was trying to build but ultimately failed in bringing to the Dodgers for a variety of reasons....

My prediction is that Choi goes to the Yankees... or perhaps he goes to the Giants, and we sign the "gritty" JT Snow to a contract that we would have paid less to in order to sign Choi....