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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
In July 1990, I wrote a feature for the Daily News on Mike Lieberthal, who had just been named the best baseball player from Ventura to Glendale and moved on to become a top Philadelphia Phillies draft choice. He was 18, I was a ripe old 22.
It's not my best work - watch out for "Soon, he will likely be as level-swinging as he is level-headed" - but I thought you might enjoy it:
High School Is Far Away for Top Player LieberthalLieberthal made his major-league debut for the Phillies against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium at age 22, on June 30, 1994.
What kind of rewards does the average Daily News Baseball Player of the Year get?
We asked the 1990 winner and we were quite frankly bowled over.
Comfortable travel to and from exotic locales. Can we tempt you with Huntington, W.Va.? How about Martinsville, Va.?
"It's about a six-hour bus ride," our player said. "After the game, which ends probably around 10 p.m., we get something to eat first, and then we're back on the road. We get back around 5 a.m."
Free time. More than you know what to do with.
"We don't have many off days. I think we have one in the middle of July."
Innumerable adoring fans. The best around.
"At our games we have about 3,000. They're really enthusiastic. They totally get into it."
Yes, you too can live the life of extravagance. These luxuries can be yours. Send no money.
All you have to do is bat .438, hit 13 home runs (four in one game), accumulate 43 RBI, be probably the best defensive high school catcher in the nation and get drafted third overall by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Then, you too can be Mike Lieberthal.
Lieberthal, a 6-foot, 180-pound catcher from Westlake High School, led the Warriors to the top ranking in the area by the Daily News and, at one point, the top ranking in the nation by USA Today. Westlake went 28-2 in 1990 and had winning streaks of 15 and 13 games before being upset in the Southern Section 5-A semifinals.
But hours after becoming the eighth area player in the 26-year history of the major-league baseball amateur draft to be drafted in the top five, Lieberthal signed a contract with the Phillies worth approximately $300,000 including salary, scholarship money and a signing bonus.
The Martinsville Phillies of the Appalachian League are Lieberthal's team now - the pros - and high school feels several worlds away.
"Yeah, it does a lot," Lieberthal said. "It's all different. Lots of guys here are mostly out of college, 20 or 21 years old. ... I do (feel different). More mature."
Lieberthal is undergoing a bit of a maturation process on the field, as well. Using a wood bat regularly for the first time, Lieberthal singled in his first game. But that turned out to be the saving grace of a career-opening 1- for-15 slump.
"We've just been working with his hitting, which'll come," Martinsville manager Rolando DeArmas said. "He's got the aluminum bat swing, where you drop back the shoulder and uppercut. We're trying to level out that swing."
It didn't figure that Lieberthal would have problems hitting for long, however. He has come back from that slow start in the middle of June to hit his first home run and raise his average above .200. Soon, he will likely be as level-swinging as he is level-headed.
"He's got a good attitude," DeArmas said. "He's very mature for his age. He's a good kid. He gets along with everybody.
"Everyone gets frustrated when they're not hitting, no doubt about that. But he doesn't take it on the field. He always gives you 120 percent."
In fact, nothing's changed defensively. Lieberthal took his spot behind the plate and came out firing.
"Catching's going good," Lieberthal said. "Three runners went and I threw them all out."
Said DeArmas: "Catching, he's been doing a great job. ... This is my 13th year with the Phillies, seventh in rookie ball, and he's one of the best catchers coming out of high school defensively behind the plate."
For Lieberthal, the praise from the Phillies is very rewarding. For the Phillies, Lieberthal is quite a reward.
"He's what the scouts wrote about," DeArmas said. "We see a lot of potential in him - ain't no doubt about that."
Copyright (c) 1990 Daily News of Los Angeles
vr, Xei
The Dodgers supplemental will be no worse that the 14th supplemental pick, #44 overall.
The supplemental round is ordered the same as the rest of the draft, by the team that lost the FA. From the latest Baseball America Ask BA, "After all of the clubs with a sandwich pick make a selection, teams with additional supplemental picks will make their second selections, again in the same order, and the process will be repeated until all clubs have exhausted their sandwich choices".
As it stands right now, the Dodgers have the #11 supplemental pick. The only arb-offered free agents that will yield a supplemental pick higher than the Dodgers are:
Graffanino (Mil)
Meche (Sea)
Mulder or Suppan (StL)
If the remaining Padre free agents leave, and SD doesn't sign Type A Graffanino, the Padres could end up with 7 of the first 68-71 picks of the draft. Not bad for them.
1 Manny Ramirez, Bos -- may or may not be available
2 Jermaine Dye, CWS -- 2007 option picked up by Sox
9 Vernon Wells, Tor -- probably N/A
12 Andruw Jones, Atl -- Boras client, probably N/A
14 Pat Burrell, Phi
16 Raul Ibanez, Sea
17 Reed Johnson, Tor -- from Riverside, CA
18 Michael Cuddyer, Min
20 Nick Swisher, Oak -- probably N/A
Any of these names seem likely and desirable?
Complete list here: http://tinyurl.com/ydtzk7
http://tinyurl.com/ylhmgb
2)Furcal
3)Nomar
4)Gonzo
5)Kent
6)Ethier
7)Betemit
8)Martin
thats not going to strike much fear into opposing pitchers..Our best lineup would be
1) Furcal
2) Martin
3) Nomar
4) Gonzo
5) Kent
6) Ethier
7) Betemit
8) Pierre
but thats not going to happen
I really want to see Kuo in the rotation, but I can handle him getting bumped (for now) by Schmidt.
Why! This is not the 2001-02 Luis Gonzalez which I would have love to have. This is the blown out left arm, seen his best days behind him Gonzalez. Now we got two weak arms in the outfield. NL runners are going to have a heyday running against our outfield.
Starters
CF - Pierre
SS - Furcal
1B - Nomar
2B - Kent
LF - Gonzo
C - Martin
RF - Ethier
3B - Betemit
Bench
1B/3B/PH - Saenz
2B/OF/PH - Marlon
C - Lieberthal
IF/OF - R.Martinez
The final 2 spots look to be between:
1B/OF - Loney
OF - Repko
OF - Werth (arb-eligible)
Toby Hall is arb-eligible, but will most likely be non-tendered if not traded.
In this scenario, methinks the backup CF is Ethier.
http://tinyurl.com/wps4v
"The Dodgers, according to a major league source, turned to Gonzalez after having internal discussions about whether to sign him or trade a younger pitcher for a corner outfielder."
Me too.
Actually, that has the potential to be a pretty flexible bench, lots of people playing multiple positions, which could add to Grady's in-game options.
1) Let Kuo start in AAA until Wolf, Penny, or Schmidt gets hurt.
2) Take Hendrickson and Tomko on a scenic country drive. Stop and throw a tennis ball out the window for them to chase. Drive away.
If we were patient, we could have made a trade with our surplus SP for a good bat later in the offseason or near the trade deadline. Gonzo is not going to be a plus at this stage in his career. I would have rather made another trade with the dreaded Rays for Rocco to play LF. Oh well, our rotation looks pretty good.
Schmidt, Lowe, Penny, Wolf and Bills/Kuo.
8 - The Boras effect continues, this news after 8 p.m. blows!!
A lot of stories. A whole lot.
boy, our payroll is north of 115M at the moment. crazy.
I don't like Kuo in the bullpen, and I don't want to tempt management into wasting him as a LOOGY again.
Tomko can be there I guess, but I don't want him to have his own designated inning anymore.
I bet he hits into a lot of DPs.
bye eric.
Actual 2007 salaries (not avg value)
Starters
Pierre - $7.5m
Furcal - $13m
Nomar - $7.5m
Kent - $9m
Gonzo - $7m
Martin - $400k (est)
Ethier - $400k (est)
Betemit - $400k (est)
Total - $45.2m
Bench
Saenz - $1m
Marlon - $525k ($925k less $400k from Was)
Lieberthal - $1.15m
R.Martinez - $800k
Loney - $400k (est)
Repko or whomever - $400k (est)
Total - $4.275m
Starting Pitchers
Schmidt - $15m (est)
Lowe - $9.5m
Penny - $8.5m
Billingsley - $400k (est)
Wolf - $7.5m
Total - $40.9m
Relievers
Saito - $1m
Broxton - $400k (est)
Brazoban - $400k (est)
Dessens - $0 (KC paying all of $1.7m)
Tomko - $4.1m
Hendrickson - $3m (arb eligible; estimate)
Total - $8.9m
Other
Odalis - $10.25m ($8m to KC & $2.25m of signing bonus)
Mueller - $4.5m (superscout)
Gagne - $1m (buyout of 2007 option)
Cruz - $300k (buyout of 2007 option; released 8/06)
Total - $16.05m
Total Payroll - $115.325m
Note: MLB minimum increases from $327k to $390k in 2007.
Could be worse. I'd rather have signed Bonds, though. I think people underestimate how fun it would be to beat the Giants with Schmidt and Bonds.
I've never been against selling my soul to the man in the woods, I guess.
thats the plan right?
Great leadership right there.
Just like last year and the year before.
Bills will only be 23, so maybe the earl weaver approach might not be a bad idea.
He was dynamite coming out of the pen against the mets in the playoffs.
He clearly wanted to be a Dodger for all the right reasons.
I thought you wanted to use Hendrickson as smoke jumper.
Besides, how bad can Gonzo be? We play the Snakes how many times a year? He is bound to be up for those games. I don't think player contracts can be evaluated with $$$ any more especially for big market teams. Its who has the a competitive team in September relative to their division that is important. Who here really cares how much money the McCourts spend as long as we have a competitive team, which we clearly do. Playoffs are all about luck and destiny. The Dodgers just have to beat 4 other teams to get there.
I feel good about 2007 so far. Ned could have done much, much worse.
no, I wanted to put hendrickson in a smokehouse and lock the doors.
I think Hendrickson is a non-tender candidate but maybe in this market he's a tradeable commodity! That would open up a spot in the bullpen.
Hopefully Colletti can trim salary by trading expensive (or potentially expensive) chaff like Hendrickson, Toby Hall, and Tomko.
On the other hand, Tomko...
if we use bills in the pen, tomko is expendable. trade him to a team like the royals, he would immediately be their #2.
LOL. I agree.
I actually like your bullpen idea for Billingsley. That's how the Dodgers used to break in future starters like Welch, Stewart, Hershiser, etc.
I want Kuo to start, either in AAA or the majors, because I think his arm may be less likely to fall off with a set routine.
Still, if he actually does something resemblining 2006, and understands that he's just keeping Kemp's spot warm, this could work out okay.
I heard his sperm were gold medalist swimmers.
See, I think if he struggles like that, he'll lose significant playing time by season's end, hopefully to an emerging Kemp and/or Loney.
I will say in Colletti's defense that he isn't too proud to demote or scrap his mistakes.
absolutely nothing. but thats not the point. the point is, the lesser of two evils was chosen today and dodger fans can rejoice. Ned is a paranoid 'stache man. He probably wakes up at night in hot sweats screaming out "MUST HAVE DEPTH..NOT, ENOUGH...PLAYERS!"
On at least one telecast in 2006, Vin Scully said of Gonzo something like "It's so rare that a franchise's best player is also its best human being." It seemed a ridiculous statement to make, but I have chosen to give Vin the benefit of the doubt (57 years in the booth; I think he's earned it).
I just hope that sentiment isn't repeated too much in 2007. Unless, of course, Vin is praising a rehabbing Luis Gonzalez for being such a team player, encouraging his replacement Matt Kemp. :)
Or we could just call him "Brave Sir Robin," bravely entering a lame duck season as the young guns are soon to vanquish him from his job.
Pierre cf
Martin c
Furcal ss
Kent 2b
Nomar 3b
Loney 1b
Ethier rf
Gonzo lf
...but I hope that by June we'll be seeing Kemp on a regular basis and that Gonzo is relegated to a moderately pricey pinch hitter/fourth outfielder.
Basically because no one besides the DT contingency would know what it means. Just like Lucille II.
Honestly I'd say send Tomko to DC; their starting staff would actually benefit from him, and it's hard enough to hit a homer there that he might have a good year. Paying $4 million for a starting pitcher who's usually good for 180-200 innings would be reasonable enough.
Maybe he'd do a sketch of Sam or me.
They even have a pronunciation here, where I copy-pasted it from:
http://lorien.sdsu.edu/~carroll/shrub.html
There is something in between an offense that crushes the ball, and an offense that has to "manufacture runs." The 2007 Dodgers embody that something. They'll hit lots of singles and doubles, and score a decent amount of runs that way. But they will also lead the league in runners LOB. We'll see a lot of games where they get 10 hits, but no runs. Their pitchers are going to have to be emotionally strong, because there are going to be a lot of night when Schmidt or Lowe will be pitching a great game, but will be losing, 2-0.
I'm not saying the Dodgers won't be good. They might be. But it will be a frustrating sort of team, more maddening than '06. I agree, the best-case scenario has Gonzo, Nomar or Kent getting hurt for a stretch to create more playing time for Loney, Kemp or even LaRoche. Weird thing to root for.
If that's not a Ned Colletti move, we don't know what is.
Ned loves to sell low and buy high.
Adding Gonzalez also could increase the Dodgers options in a trade. They could feel more comfortable trading a prospect such as Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, James Loney or Andre Ethier.
Don't care much for Ethier, but the other two shouldn't be made available.
Why did we sign Pierre??
Left field NL average: .277/.359/.478
Luis Gonzalez: .273/.357/.447
Center field NL average: .264/.335/.418
Juan Pierre: .292/.330/.388
Right field NL average: .268/.345/.453
Andre Ethier: .308/.365/.477
thats a ridiculous assertion.
And everyone thought this made us safe.
___________________________________
Gagne said during the season he would give the Dodgers a hometown discount to re-sign, but like Drew's assertion that he wouldn't opt out of his contract, those words ring somewhat hollow. Gagne's agent, Scott Boras, turned down a guaranteed one-year, $4-million Dodgers offer with incentives that could have increased the value to $10 million, a source close to the negotiations said.
Although the Dodgers don't appear willing to increase the offer, Boras plans to speak to Colletti again before Gagne signs with another team. The market for Gagne has increased to more than $5 million guaranteed, with the same kind of incentives the Dodgers are offering.
"Obviously we are meeting and talking to a lot of teams," Boras said. "But Ned and I are communicating and we will continue to talk about Eric Gagne."
___________________________
My first post after enjoys you guys for six months.
I mean Boras probably wants to screw Ned over.
its different. wolf is a starting pitcher and he came back last year and showed he was healthy and he had his stuff back; just not his command.
gagne hasnt even thrown a bullpen session yet is coming off elbow and back surgeries.
due to command issues. If you rewatched some of his starts last year, his fastball was consistently 90-92 and reaching 94 on occasion. He had the snap on his curveball when he would get on top of it but again the command just wasnt there yet. Which is understood since he just came back from TJ.
Isn't the Rule 5 draft tomorrow?
I'd guess candidates for removal from the 40-man (waivers or outright release) are:
Robles
Eric Hull (although he was added to the 40-man last month)
Wilson Valdez (see Hull)
Toby Hall (traded by tomorrow?)
It seems there is another shoe to drop here...a trade perhaps (2 for 1, 3 for 2, something to decrease the 40-man)?
Before signing Gonzo, I was hoping Penny (and Hall) were traded for Pat Burrell. Now, I'm not sure what to think!
you dont have to be a subscriber.
im listening to it now. give me a couple of minutes.
Scott Elbert
Jon Meloan
Eric Hull
-credits ned for keeping the staff together and giving room for logan and his scouts to do their own thing.
-they have a mandate to look for players that they think they can convert to catchers (ie, russ martin success story). Look for players that have an athletic, durable body- usually a SS or 3b that have a chance to hit. Needs great footwork and flexibility.
-Elbert might be a darkhorse to come and suprise in 2007 if he stays healthy. Hes got an outstanding mentality
-Meloan might surprise next year as well.
-Likes eric hull as an overachiever, great heart.
basically, the last 3 points were when Manuel asked who are some players down on the farm that Logan can talk about. Manuel mentioned Laroche and Kemp and then Logan took the cue and mentioned those guys.
Let's hope Loney gets the chance to wear some sort of number with LA for many, many years.
God forbid, he didn't call Hull 'scrappy,' did he?
I saw the article in this morning's LA Times-online now. Earlier a similiar story was quoted in Roto world. What I find most interesting is the Boras quote, "Ned and I are communicating".. Is this a Boras olive branch or is this Boras using the Dodgers and the early comments by Gagne to get more money for his client?
Also, I was thinking of the 40-man in general, since the team can't have more than 40 on the roster unless someone is on the 60-day DL, which in the off-season doesn't exist.
I would imagine Boras' client base might suffer if he didn't at least claim to still have a working relationship with one of the highest-payroll franchises in baseball.
But with Saito re-signed, it doesn't sound like there's much to communicate.
Hmmm... Penny's health/head is a question mark, Wolf's health is no given, neither is Kuo's, and even Billz might well have a sophomore setback.
If I'm Ned, I'm not trading any pitching now. I don't want Grady to ever hand in a lineup card that's got Tomko or Hendrickson's name on it.
You know, I've liked that song for 20 years, and it was only six months ago that I found out what it meant. What a sharp guy...
Oh, you're talking about trading Hendrickson! I was worried we were going to trade some pitching... (ba-doom-boom)
Yeah, on paper:
Over 100 career starts [check]
Career ERA under 5 [check]
Left-handed [check]
Has pulse [check]
Based on this offseason, I think we're looking at a $7m guy here. We should get something for him, darn it!
(PS: thanks for transcripting the Logan White thing, Nate)
http://www.tampabays10.com/video/news/?aid=35955&sid=45061
Dear Mr Coletti, If your dream is to run a convelesant home- then go do so. Most Dodger fans do not want to see you turn this into the oldest team in baseball the way you did the Giants. I hate this deal in that ancient/declining Gonzo is Guaranteed to be the starter. What the heck is that about? Pretty much locks in Coletti unloading a young outfielder.
1. SS Furcal
2. C Martin
3. 1B Garciaparra
4. 2B Kent
5. LF Gonzalez
6. RF Ethier
7. 3B Betemit
8. P Schmidt
9. CF Pierre
http://tinyurl.com/yl47tq
P.S. In 1200 years, this is the first guy to concoct a make believe number? Or am I missing some subtle genius here?
Scott Elbert
Jon Meloan
Eric Hull
This smells like a disinformation campaign to me. He's pumping up some stocks he owns so he can sell high.
Seriously, Eric Hull?
Gonzo, Nomar, Wolf, and Pierre: 33 mils they are making this year.
Wouldnt 2 (15 mils dollar players) and 2 rookies be better?
It feels like 98-2001 all over again.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/news/262980.html
1. SS Furcal
2. C Martin
3. 3B Garciaparra
4. LF Gonzalez
5. 2B Kent
6. 1B Loney
7. RF Ethier
8. P Schmidt
9. CF Pierre
Ethier and Martin are friends.
Kent, Schmidt, and Gonzo go to AARP meetings together.
Slowly but surely Ned is building team chemistry.
104 Nate-thanks for the steer.
I know some people want a major power hitter, but it looks to me like we have taken care of most needs without selling the farm or long, blocking contracts.(CF may be an exception) If we end up with surplus pitching and get a good bat, it will all seem almost too good to be true.
Of course this is going to cost, but with the money people are throwing around this year, we won't really stand out. I haven't noticed--are the small market teams also increasing payroll?
2B DeWitt
1B Loney
RF Kemp
LF Ethier
3B LaRoche
CF Repko
C ?
Elbert, Maloan, Kuo, Miller, Houlton
Could this AAA Las Vegas team already be better than the opening day Dodgers?
2. In an outfield with Luis Gonzalez and Juan Pierre, "3.5" is a compliment
Depends on who the players are. Just because they're getting paid $15 million doesn't meant they're worth it.
This year's FA class is very short on guys who are truly worth the salaries they're getting. (Although I suppose that's true every year.)
Or should Pierre just run the balls into second base himself, and skip the whole "throwing" thing altogether...?
p(Pierre OPS's over .800)
p(Gonzo matches JD Drew's productivity)
it's nullity!
Loney will get some time to spell Gonzo, as will Werth or Repko. That should keep Gonzo's appearances somewhat moderate and keep him healthy.
As someone implied a while back, this isn't a lineup to be constructed around a big bopper. It's a lineup made of solid hitters.
bluto
I can't figure out Colletti's philosophy at all. He hasn't traded any of the blue-chip prospects, but his moves indicate he has no confidence in the young players, either.
First he blocks Loney by re-signing Nomar. Then he signs two starting pitchers, shoving Billingsley and Kuo out of the rotation. Now Gonzo ensures that Kemp won't be around at least for another year. And even though we have Ethier, I still think another trade for an outfielder might be in the works, what with our surplus of pitchers. And yet, it's Penny who's being shopped, not Billz or Kuo. Strange.
I've got P(Pierre OPSing over .800) at 0.
I also forgot to mention that 141 refers to 130. My apologies.
90 Welcome. Hard to argue with the first comment sharing some knowledge of Middle English. My first comment was something like "Uh, hi, so you guys like the Dodgers?"
And a solemn Pearl Harbor Day to you all.
Ned's strong points: he always has a back up plan, seemingly to prevent a situation like 2004 and to provide roster flexibility for Grady Little, who likes to play the hot hand.
Ned's weak point: Values experience over talent, will trade young players for immediate help, even if that help does not have a long term plan. Obviously overvalues traditional statistics and counting stats over more advanced statistics and metrics. Does not like to commit and thus overpays rather than gives extra years (some view this as a positive, but money is worth more now than in the future, so the risk of an extra 7 million or so over an extra year is mitigated. In other words, the riskiest part of the contract is the first year, and the contract because less burdensome every passing year).
Obviously the real problem is the lack of faith in the kids and the disregard for rate statistics.
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