Dodgers, Casey Blake close to agreement
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.
Typical Colletti...
“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.”
Casey Blake a "huge piece?" Piece of what?
Nothing gets me more pumped than signing a 35-year-old, mediocre 3B to a 3 year deal. Awesome.
How is it possible to meet in Colletti's suit?
Piece of crap... I think Blake fits the description pretty well. Another 17 million down the tubes. This reeks of the Nomar resigning... and how successful was that exactly?
It takes a pretty keen eye to catch a typo like that. Keep up the good work buddy...
Really wish this deal was for two years though...
Colletti's calamities continue...Wow I can't wait to purchase those $90 spring training tickets to that slab of concrete in the desert to see good old Casey Blake. Dodgers have to be early favorites to win the pennant now. Thanks Ned more of McCourts borrowed money well spent. Those spring training tix prices will help poor Frank & Jamie with their $50 million twin Malibu mortgages. Where's the fans bail-out?
If you're going to complain about Blake then please provide a better reasonable alternative at 3b.
DeWitt, imo, is better off at 2nd...so that leaves???
It really is kind of a big deal. Yes, Blake is mediocre for a third baseman. But, then again he's also either the best or second best free agent third baseman on the market. It is strategically smarter to sign a 17-20 home run guy to only 3 years for less than Luis Castillo makes a year to man third so that the front office doesn't have to sit on their hands and pussyfoot around with the agents for the second baseman and shortstops who will command more money and more years (and complicate the youth movement more than re-upping Blake at a position where their prospects are furthest away from the MLB level--they already have 2-3 mlb ready middle infield prospects). You could argue further the dodgers should go after the cheapest power they can get that fills a hole and Blake or Crede match that strategy more than a Furcal/Hudson do.
Taking the quick&dirty&cheap route in "completing" the infield leaves the dodgers GM assured he can offer X amount of dollars to Sabathia because he has more payroll to work with.
Who's complaining? Colletti's alternate plan was to bring Bill Mueller back to play 3rd since the Dodgers are still paying him. Why not offer Jason Schmidt & Andruw Jones extensions? Oh & my bad, the price for a seat behind home plate at Hump Back Ranch spring training for a single game (against a premium opponent of course) is $125. Where do I send my check? I want to help the McCourts to continue to sign these stellar performers. Nothing but the best for us Dodger fans.
and if that $# holds up, he's cheap and durable. if he sucks by that 2nd or third year so what he becomes a pinch hitter or a subsidized trade over to the royals or something. It's not like he becomes an Andruw Jones or Jason Schmidt type drag on the dodgers...at worst blake will keep Russell Mitchell or Josh Bell at AAA a 1/2 season more than he should've or something.
"If you're going to complain about Blake then please provide a better reasonable alternative at 3b.
DeWitt, imo, is better off at 2nd...so that leaves???"
How about exploring the 2B market before giving a 35-year-old 3B a three-year deal when he had no current offers on the table. Minnesota is the only other team to offer him a deal, and that was for two years. It isn't like Blake was a hot commodity who was going to be snatched up quickly.
While I don't necessarily disagree with some of the points you're making it really makes little sense to complain about something if you're not going to propose a solution to the problem.
Here's one for you: don't spend your money on the Dodgers until the product is to your liking.
The few hiccups you mentioned aside, they are getting there. We finally have some good young talent and I can't wait to see the kids get better and better...
That means signing a veteran corner infielder for a couple of years to hold down the fort...
Explore the 2nd base market? Ok, there is Hudson, and that's about it unless you want some journeyman. And he is seeking a contract that is two years longer and 33 million dollars more. Also, consider that the Dodgers have many players who can man 2nd base, but only DeWitt for third. And what if DeWitt got hurt? The Dodgers would be absolutely screwed. Blake also happens to be a great clubhouse guy, and with so many players leaving, it is pretty important to keep some sort of continuity going into next season. Too many new faces will cause problems. While this isn't (wouldn't be) a great signing, it is a pretty necessary one.
"Explore the 2nd base market? Ok, there is Hudson, and that's about it unless you want some journeyman. And he is seeking a contract that is two years longer and 33 million dollars more. Also, consider that the Dodgers have many players who can man 2nd base, but only DeWitt for third. And what if DeWitt got hurt?"
Exploring the 2B market doesn't mean just free agents. Explore the trade front and see what's out there. A guy like Brian Roberts would be a perfect fit, especially if Furcal doesn't come back. He can lead-off, take a walk, get an extra-base hit, steal a base and play solid defense.
Roberts would cost a lot, but he'd be a better investment than Casey Blake, seeing as his production is likely to drop due to age. And his defense definitely isn't going to get any better. DeWitt is a superior defensive 3B to Blake.
And the Dodgers still have Tony Abreu, who could play 3B if something were to happen to DeWitt, in this hypothetical situation. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the Dodgers bring back Garciaparra at a substantially-reduced rate, and for one year.
I guess I should have added to my hypothetical: or if DeWitt has similar struggles that he did last June/July where he did absolutely nothing.
And, ok, I'm fine with exploring the trade market, but it's hard to compare that with signing Blake, especially trading for Roberts. The O's love the guy, and would take an ridiculous amount of talent to acquire, and then would require a long term deal of which would also be of a ridiculous amount. So, compared to trading for someone, Blake allows them to go after more important needs, such as pitching and SS.