He pitches Wednesday though, so I imagine he would be fine since he's not going to throw more than 65 pitches. And the D.R. should pound Italy.

...pretty entertaining, nonetheless.

I was thinking over the weekend about optimism. The kind of "what if" statements where everyone, specifically Perez, Penny and Lowe, did the equivalent of their best season. Short of looking that up and coming up with an evaluation of the best we can hope for (eliminiating the possibility that they all surpass their career bests), I felt pretty good when passing through an optimistic wave.

(The optimism doubles when you fantasize career bests for folks like Garciapara, Lofton... even Kent and Drew...).

Also, sorting by OBP shows us, in order that they most need it, which players would benifit from a motivational speech from Lofton.

If Kenny is a reader of the site, please be asssured that it is not you we take issue but the one who claims to praise you.

(Annoying in the sense that he will create annoyances)

376. overkill94
365 The Life of David Gale, are you serious? I actually saw that in the theaters on a date, and we were both highly pissed off that we wasted money to go see that movie.

Well, first I did like the movie, particularly Spacey. But second, I see about one movie a year in theater. I rent from a 99-cent rental place. So my threshold for being "worth the money" is pretty low. It's more about being worth the 2 hours. And that, in turn, depends in part on opportunity costs.

So now that we've seen Colletti's preferences, the next question is how fast he and Little will pull the plug when one or more of these veteran mediocrities stinks up the joint in favor of youngsters. Here, I feel less optimistic. My guess is that we'll be begging for changes when Mueller or Lofton stink, or when Nomar gets hurt, only to have those changes be trades for even more mediocre mediocrities.

After that, Seo and Tomko should be pretty much equivalent to Weaver and Houlton.

seo has a lower career era then weaver and it seems that he is just blossoming. Houlton was horrible last year with a 5+ era. No matter how bad tomko is, hes still going to be right around league average so that makes our back end better.

we just need odalis to quit being a wuss and pitch well, have penny have the normal improvement with age and maturity, and for lowe to not completely self destruct. I think the pitching will be better, but not one of the top staffs in the league.

I say this because I would assume that Korea thinks that Seo is their best starter and is familiar with MLB hitters.

jim tracy: hee seop choi

the biggest no-suprise of the year will be odalis, because his temperment hasn't changed and i dont think it will suprising if he takes a few holidays on the DL.

I think one of my friends put it best. "Jae Seo has never thrown a pitch over 85 in his life. You know who else can throw 85? I can."

Seo wont be an ace, but a solid #3 is perfect reasonable forecast for his future. Also, his walk ratio last year was superb at 3.69 to 1. I just think he has finally figured out the nuances of pitching without blazing stuff and knows his ability.

First what are ned's preferences?
I'd like to know from some sort of proof, because i'm confused about him, he was talking up the veterans for a long time but recently he has been talking up the prospects.

As for the rest of what you wrote, that is what i've been saying since all the trading and free agency was over this offseason.
A large part of the dodgers sucess in 2006 will be in the decisions that ned and grady make when lofton and/or mueller stink it up, and i might add carter and tomko too.
Will they give the prospects their chance or trade some for more mediocrity.
Big question that will determine the sucess/failure in 2006.

what do you consider extreme? i dont think .86 is too extreme. his career is .92

Bottom line, if the Dodgers' worst case scenario is Guzman and LaRoche are hot but can't crack the lineup, then life will be good.

sizemore, martinez, hafner, peralta, marte. damn i hope the dodgers are like that in 3 years.

Just a comment, I have only listened to these minor league announcers for an inning or two and I like them.

Nice play by LaRoche and Nomar to end the inning.

For what it's worth, I saw Seo sit on 88-89 mph in a few games last year.

I loved watching him pitch. Tremendous balance to his delivery. He got squeezed several times, but kept his poise.

And I'm not alarmed by how his flyball ratios will play away from Shea. Among guys who qualified, the flyball leaders last year were Patterson, Elarton and Young. Yes, Patterson pitched in DC, but overall, he was very good. Elarton had his best year ever. Despite pitching in Texas, Young had a pretty good year.

Jared Mitchell- the next Carl Crawford? I'd definitely take him with the Angels pick. Crawford is one of my favorite players. Here's his profile
http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewAmateurPlayerProfile.do?playerId=516&draftId=4

Do you have anymore info on Mitchell?

there is a free video of a game where max sapp and jared mitchell play in that you can watch.

SS Furcal
RF Drew
LF Cabrera
3B LaRoche
1B Loney
RF Kemp
C Navarro
2B Abreu

Rotation
Lowe, Penny, Perez, Billingsley, Hochevar

Bench -- Ethier, Aybar, D. Young.

On the Florida Marlins: Guzman, Martin, Orenduff.

In the wings -- 2B DeWitt (AAA), LHP Elbert (AAA), RHP Johnson (AAA).

And if Drew walks or is hurt: Furcal in CF with Hu or Izzy at SS.

Defensively, that lineup is slightly above average or better at every spot.

Good speed, pretty good power and I love Drew as a No. 2 hitter.

On

who did we trade for cabrera?

martin, guzman and who?

SS Drew
CF Upton
3B Tracy
1B Jackson
RF Carlos Gonzales (who will destroy the Cal League this year)
LF Chris Young
2B Hudson
C Montero/Estrada

On the Boston Red Sox: OF Carlos Quentin, traded by Byrnes to Epstein for LHP Lester.

Rotation: Webb, Nippert, Mock, Lester, Ortiz.

Spending potential on others: Enormous.

Outfield defense: Potentially spectacular.

Hitting talent: Abundant.

Now, he hasn't dumped a lot of prospects, but on that we don't know if he really wants to bring them up over the next couple years, or if he's just saving them now to dump them later. The short-term deals to the vets (Furcal, Nomar, Mueller, Lofton) leave that question open, and give us room for optimism if we look hard enough.

Guzman, Martin and Orenduff all helped the Marlins win the 2009 World Series.

As you know, Florida wins the WS every six years.

The 2009 Marlins -- who played inside a retractable-roof yard in north Miamia -- were a very exciting team. Their standouts included Henley Ramirez, Hermida, Sanchez, Petit, Guzman, Martin and several other Latin American stars, plus a few stud pitchers drafted back in 2005.

nate how would you feel trading for Brandon Phillips. I think he needs a change of scenery and would be a better utility player than Robles or Martinez. Phillips can play 3B, SS, and 2B. He's a very good defender. I doubt it would take much to acquire him since he's out of options.

Thomas also iced his elbow after every committee meeting.

(This is not a political comment - remember, don't turn it into one.)

Ortiz, who recently was quoted as saying he has no cause to adjust his game, proves untradeable in coming years. Arizona considers solving the problem by hiring a hit man but decided against it because Ortiz's contract isn't covered by insurance. Arizona pays him $8 milion to serve as a spot starter/swing man in 2008.

Which isn't to say Ortiz's valuations are wholly negative. In his memoirs, Byrnes reveals that Ortiz came in handy every time Moorad tried to butt in where he didn't belong. "I would tell Jeff, 'Aren't you the guy who gave $34 million to Russ Ortiz?' " Brynes recalled.

2008 could be the year, but every time the McCourts go to accept the WS trophy from Bud, the vision fades.

Brandon Phillips is interesting and enticing because, defensively, he is very good at 2B, good at SS and likely could be a pretty good CF and a good LF who also can come off the bench and steal a base. He's that kind of athlete, although the OF dimension needs proving.

But Phillips also has left a trail of dead scouts and coaches because, despite flashing a good bat in the minors, he gives away AB after AB after AB. I wouldn't gamble on that turning around.

Maybe you take a flyer it you're the Rockies, whose hitting environment is optimal -- but even then, it's a reach. Bad aproach at the plate, bad pitch recognition, bad swing.

I would be interested in splitting a 27 game package with you. Also, I'm not afraid to attend opening day with you... as long as you promise to wear deoderant ;-).

Email me at nrpollack@gmail.com. And I always wear deodorant. Sometimes two different kinds at once.

Not that it really matters, but will today's stats be logged as "official" spring stats?