Complete list of September additions, and some other stuff
The guys coming off the DL are Andruw Jones, Delwyn Young and Scott Proctor. The guys being recalled are Jason Repko, Chin-lung Hu, James McDonald and, of course, Clayton Kershaw, who will pitch on Tuesday night against the Pods as if he had never left. The guy getting his contract purchased is A.J. Ellis, and there already is an open 40-man spot waiting for him to fill it. That's all, folks. Rafael Furcal and Takashi Saito might be added later, but for now, the Dodgers will start September with 33 guys. Xavier Paul is NOT getting a callup despite having a good year at Vegas and despite being on the 40-man. Outfield is too crowded already, and there wouldn't be any playing time for him. I realize that raises the question of why Repko is coming up, but I honestly don't have an answer for that at this point. ... Nomar out again tonight, and Torre hinted that Angel Berroa's recent performance -- he is 7 for 18 over the past six games in which he has registered an at-bat -- could warrant more playing time. However, Joe seemed to indicate that Nomar is still his primary shortstop because of his ability to hit in the clutch. ... Jeff Kent's MRI is happening today, but we won't know the results until tomorrow.
I have no problem with Repko, unlike most pple, but it shouldn't be at the expense of Xavier Paul. Also, wouldn't have minded to see Ivan Dejesus but room on the 40-man is non-existent. What do you think of Dejesus @2b Dewitt @ 3rd in '09? Don't tell me there's not enough offense, cause there's really nothing on the free agent market either.
So we are calling up Andruw Jones to strike out 3 times a game and Jason Repko to put everyone on the team on the DL but someone who actually has a future in this league doesn't get a chance? More useless players for Joe to put in the lineup and cost us the season.
I wonder how many games its gonna take Joe to put his man crush Proctor into a key situation and have him blow it.
Sorry there JLS, but a Loney/DeJesus/???/DeWitt infield would have to be the most punchless infield in the league. Personally, I'd like to see a guy like Mark Ellis signed for 2B or better yet, Orlando Hudson. Both are free agents. At third, it's Joe Crede or bust and if we don't get him, I wouldn't mind Blake back on a one-year deal. Of course if DeWitt has a huge September and shows he can handle 2B defensively, I'd like to see something like this:
1B Loney
2B DeWitt
SS Furcal or Hu
3B Crede/Blake
I wonder how our record would look if Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier played every day this year. Maybe Joe should have listened to the fans at the beginning of the season because we all knew Dre was better then Slappy. But what do we know? As Grady Little said all we do is play Nintendo.
Dave R.,
Not sure about Furcal and Crede. There are better options out there. Furcal has been injury prone the past couple of years and it would be very "Colletti-like" for the Dodgers to re-sign him. The team has already wasted enough resources.
Never understood the fascination with Crede. I would never sign someone who has a career on base percentage of .306. This teams need players who get on base to increase run percentages, not vice versa.
Buddy, you're right about Crede. I really hope we don't sign someone just for the sake of signing someone. The last time that happened we got Juan Pierre for 5 years. That's Ned for you.
You really can't overlook how different this team looks without Kent being there to kill all the youthful enthusiasm with his mustache.
Why would anyone have any interest in Crede? He's currently hitting .248 with a .313 OBP and .462 slugging percentage. And he also has a history of back problems.
Why not pursue a catcher and move Russell Martin to 3B permanently? I've mentioned it before, and it was brought up during the game on ESPN tonight. Moving Martin out of the catching position will preserve whatever speed that hasn't already deteriorated, prevent him from wearing down in the second half, and keep him free of the nagging bumps and bruises that inevitably impact negatively on a catcher's offensive performance.
If he becomes a free agent, Orlando Hudson would be a nice pick-up. But don't sell Ivan DeJesus short. I don't know if he's ready yet, but his current numbers at Jacksonville include a .325 BA and a .420 OBP.
It certainly wouldn't hurt to add some power, but there is also more in-house power than some of you suspect. Power is generally the last thing to come to a hitter. I've seen enough of Loney to be convinced that it won't be long before he's hitting for significant power. The 26 year old Ethier has shown a significant power increase during the second half this year. Loney is only 24, and it's not unreasonable to expect that his power will increase significantly. Expect the same from Kemp as well. This is not a totally punchless team, and I expect that the power numbers will only get better as the younger players mature. Maybe we'll even get more from AJ next year.
Pretty sure the reason they aren't moving Martin to 3rd is because he's one of the better catchers in the majors as it is. A 800+ OPS/~.400 OBP guy at catcher is worth significantly more than an 800+ OPS/~.400 OBP guy at third base.
One SHOULD be able to be easily found, the other is a rarity. The Dodgers already have the rarity, so why go and sign one of the free agent hacks at catcher who already suck?
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2002/02/2008-09-free-agents.html
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2001/05/2010-free-agents.html
I don't see one catcher on that list who comes close to what Martin can do. At third though? Heck, even Blake isn't a terrible option because he comes close to Martin's raw output.
It's not my fascinatin (re: Crede). Based on Ned's track record, I'm sure he's tops on his to-do list.
Fire Ned,
When did I ever say that we should sign a free agent hack? I'm simply suggesting that the Dodgers should be exploring that avenue (i.e., finding a replacement for Martin, not a hack). Martin is solid defensively, EXCEPT that he doesn't throw out a whole lot of runners. In fact, on that front, the Dodgers have A.J. Ellis at LV who has thrown out about 43% (30 of 70, last I looked) of base-stealers. Also has a good bat and high OBP. Of course, handing the job to a rookie is a bit risky, so exploring a trade should also be considered. If the cost is too high, then we still have Martin, and maybe even Ellis. But if it can be done reasonably, why not?
As an aside, if Martin should remain the catcher, then Ellis needs to be seriously considered as his backup, rather than the hacks that have been employed at that position the last couple of years. If he catches, Martin simply needs more days off. To allow for that to happen the Dodgers need a second string catcher who is more than just a placeholder in the lineup.
Also, I don't need to be told about Martin's offensive numbers. However, by moving him to 3B his offensive numbers would probably improve significantly (including power), and as I noted in my previous post, his remaining speed would be preserved. Another benefit would be having him as a third emergency catcher, thereby giving the Dodgers more lineup flexibility late in games.
Finally, good third baseman are not "easily found". And the 35 year old statue we currently have at third is not the solution. Martin has the arm and the mobility to be a superior third baseman. In fact, I venture to say that he would be better defensively at 3B that he is behind the plate.
The problem is that the only free agents available are aging "hacks" that want 3-4 year contracts.
Honestly, Ellis is 27 and in a hitter's league, this is his first good year in the minors. Why move a Top 5 (at least) catcher to 3rd base for a 27 year old who is basically a non-prospect? His MLE is a .717 OPS.
Even assuming Martin's power numbers return to last year, he's still immensely valuable as a catcher over a 3rd baseman. Maybe I would agree with it if the Dodgers still had Carlos Santana, but they don't. And yes, I realize Blake's defense sucks. Unfortunately, this team can't hit or field, so there has to be a choice somewhere.
I'm just saying that:
Blake + Martin>Martin + Ellis or Martin + Varitek (barf) or Martin + Barajas etc...