lets get some high school baseball blogs going it jjust about that time of season....

I'm as big a Dodger fan as you Aram and I also disagree with the move but I still believe the Dodgers will make the playoffs,etc.I hate Little, he is an idiot.Went to a game against the Giants this season and it was bout a week before the break.....Little had Ethier batting 6th with RAMON MARTINEZ batting in the fifth spot!Turns out, Martinez had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and could not get them in.Then, in the 7th he comes up with bases loaded and another easy out w/o doing anything.....Ethierhit a solo home run in the game.....Dodgers ended up losing by two runs...Really, Little is just an idiot....But, his retardedness withstanding...The Dodgers will still make the playoffs and I even think they will get through the 1st round but fall in the NLCS and realize that they have a Forest Gump sounding retard coaching them that needs to be in the minors or coaching some t-ball team...Screw Little....Coletti is the man, this is his only mistake.

ok, well I like the spanish versions better.

think blue,

Saw Chuck, (no more Chuckie, he's bigger than me), watching his brother play for C O at the Cory Lidle Memorial and he said he feels strong and was looking forward to Spring.

He had some shoulder problems last May and June, but that is hopefully all behind him. Great guy.

Aram,

The only thing that makes sense is that Little is hoping to help JP with more fast balls by putting Furcal ahead of him. The thing that makes no sense might be pandering to Furcal's ego.

Pierre is also notoriously inefficient as a base stealer, getting caught a shameful 26% of the time, he's been #1 in the caught stealing category five times since 2001. Furcal is worse, getting thrown out almost 30% of the time; he just runs less.

FWIW, the baseball numbers types calculate a stolen base as having a run scoring value of about .3 run per steal but those numbers are crushed when factored with a high percentage of being caught. Guys like Furcal and Pierre who get caught a lot do little in providing runs since they end innings or limit offensive options when they are caught. The break even # is something like 75%, below that is subtracting runs.

MATW,

There's no doubt in my mind that the Dodgers are one of the best teams in the NL. I think they'd win the NL Central and probably the NL East, the only problem is that the NL West is the best NL division this year. The Giants are good, the Pads are better than last year (in my opinion) and the D-Backs have the best young talent in the game. There can be no slippage by the Dodgers.

Furcal or Pierre it does not matter who bats leadoff the advantage to that is a 160 plus games and by game 30 you will know who fits best there. I do remember them send down Furcal to the no.8 spot last year when he was struggling. The Dodgers will take the west again not because of the above one, two batters mentioned but because of their pitching. Unless Penny meltsdown and injuries occur, this starting pitching staff is probably the best in baseball right now...Pitching stops good hitting and the Dodgers will run away with the division based on that alone...The Padres will finish 3rd or 4th....Go Big Blue...cannot wait for Opening Day....I can taste those Dodger Dogs already....

Whatever happened to CO's Chucky Tiffany and his rise to stardom in MLB.......I know he was involved in a trade that has him playing for the Devil Rays farm but it has been some years now and there is not the slightest sight of him coming up to the majors.......Is he not that good?

"Beside speed? The problem is your batting a guy who has ZERO power second in the lineup."

-I-'m not... my solution would have been not to sign the guy in the first place.

Batting Pierre leadoff gives the most plate appearances to the least productive hitter in the lineup, except the pitcher. This is not a good thing for a team that wants to score runs. Of course, batting him 2nd ain't much better... probably the best place for a bat like his would be 8th, but why pay 9 million a year for a #8 hitter?

"I'm almost 100 percent sure that Pierre might be the weakest hitting No. 2 hitter in the league."

Probably, though you can pretty much say that about any spot in the order INCLUDING leadoff.

"He's got no other place to bat in the order than leadoff ..."

Plenty of teams have gone with powerless bunters as #2 hitters. There is nothing unique about the 2007 Dodgers in that regard.

" is that the case for Furcal? No, I don't think so. He could bat No. 2 or after Gonzo in the lower half of the order."

Ugh. Don't remind me the remains of Luis Gonzales will be blocking prospects in the Dodger outfield this season.

"Furcal is the more versatile hitter, thus why not move him around?"

Furcal is also the superior hitter, so why not maximize his PAs?

In any case, what's really the difference between a #1 and #2 hitter? Firstoff, they're only guaranteed to bat in those spots in the first inning, and second, even in that ideal sequence, the #1 is going to be out 65% of the time, so the #2 is going to have to try to get on base like a #1 anyway. (Taken to extreme, this argument demonstrates why batting orders are so overrated... they're based on ideal assumptions that are very rarely the case in reality).

"If anybody is banking on the Dodgers being No. 4 in the NL in scoring again this year, they're crazy."

Well, replacing your best hitter with a washed-up Luis Gonzales, signing Pierre, and banking on Kent and Nomar hanging on another year without falling apart isn't exactly good planning. The best hope for the Dodger Offense this year is the same as last year: hope the up and coming rookies are ready to step in.

"I can name 10 offenses I like better, including all four other teams in the NL West."

I don't disagree. Teams that depend on hitting a lot of singles to score runs can turn sour really fast... just look at the Angels.

"Yes, I like the Pads better."

It's at least a coin toss at this point.

Jhykron,

Beside speed? The problem is your batting a guy who has ZERO power second in the lineup. I'm almost 100 percent sure that Pierre might be the weakest hitting No. 2 hitter in the league. He's got no other place to bat in the order than leadoff ... is that the case for Furcal? No, I don't think so. He could bat No. 2 or after Gonzo in the lower half of the order. Furcal is the more versatile hitter, thus why not move him around? If anybody is banking on the Dodgers being No. 4 in the NL in scoring again this year, they're crazy. I can name 10 offenses I like better, including all four other teams in the NL West. Yes, I like the Pads better.

"What am I missing?"

The trend. Pierre's OBP has been steadily declining, while Furcal's has been increasing over that career. Not only that, but Pierre's entire effectiveness is dependent upon batting average, and contact slap hitters with no patience generally do not get better with age.

But this is an absurd argument to begin with, because the Dodger Offense's biggest need is power, and the acquisition of Pierre is completely counterproductive to that need, minutia like batting order aside.

"Please save your finger energy if you're going to say that Furcal is the better leaoff candidate because he's got the better OBP."

Ummm... what would make Furcal a better candidate in your mind then? Swinging at more bad pitches and making more outs, just so he can have more hits?

The -only- thing Pierre brings to the table is his speed. Big deal... this is baseball, not track, and for a fast guy, dude sure gets thrown out a lot.

"Again, why sign this guy if you're not going to bat him leadoff?"

Why get him at all? What's the point paying millions for five years for a guy who's barely going to be more effective than Repko (maybe). It's a horrible signing no matter where in the order he bats... and batting orders are horribly overrated anyway.

idk about you guys but the san fran giants look pretty good this year. i know there a veteran team but they get the job done. and there pitching staff is pretty good too.
zito=all star
morris=good player
cain=high prospect
lowry=future all star.
dodgers also have a good team this year too, its going to be a good 3 team race in san diego, san fran, and la.

Fair point Aram but over the last couple seasons Furcal has been a much better leadoff hitter.

Here is how they stack up over the last two years.

AVG
Furcal .292
Pierre .284

RUNS
Furcal 213
Pierre 183

OBP
Furcal .359
Pierre .328

SB
Furcal 83-106 (78%)
Pierre 115-152 (75%)

The Dodgers offense might be "punchless" but they sure do score a lot of runs. They were 4th in the NL last year only 14 runs behind the NY Mets who hit 47 more home runs than the Dodgers. The Dodgers offense this year should be even better with the additions of Pierre and Luis Gonzalez, a healthy Jeff Kent, and a full year of Russell Martin, Wilson Betemit, and Andre Ethier. Juan Pierre is a younger Kenny Lofton...unfortunetely he's not a young Cleveland Kenny, he's a young Dodgers Kenny (compare their stats from last season...Kenny was FAR more effective). They paid him because they had to...Kemp isn't ready and probably won't be a centerfielder anyways. The five years was a nessesary evil as the Giants were hours away from signing Pierre. Would you rather of had a Lofton/Furcal order last year because Lofton was much better in 06’ than Pierre and there wasn't much chatter about that?

Elias,

I know - Ralph and John are the English versions of their names.

Rich,

Take a look at the numbers. I'm tired of people blowing this out of proportion. When comparing OBPs between the two players, Furcal is only slightly ahead of Pierre, but JP makes up for that in other areas. If you're talking about the big picture, not just the Dodgers, then JP's OBP isn't great for a leadoff guy. But Little has only JP and RF to choose from and he made the wrong choice. The Dodgers' offense is so punchless that Little is having to get cute in Feb. because the only chance they'll have is to manufacture runs.
But I still ask - Why sign the guy? His two claims to fame are that of a base stealing maniac (which he doesn't even do that well) and a guy who covers a ton of ground in the outfield. The fact that he nears 700 ABs per season and leads the league in hits should out-weigh his OBP.

Furcal's career OBP is .351
Pierre's career OBP is .350

Furcal's career AVG is .286
Pierre's career AVG is .303

Furcal's career SB 226
Pierre's career SB 325

What am I missing?

His name is JUAN Pierre.

GET SOME STORIES ABOUT FOOTBALL!!!

YOU KNOW WHAT GET'S US EXCITED!!

Aram…you're right that Pierre consistently ranks among the league leaders in hits BUT he’s leads the league in OUTS every year. He would make a perfect two hitter for a number of reasons…

1) Pierre doesn’t walk…so the only way he’s going to get on base is by base hit. Hitting 2nd is the best place in the order for this type of hitter to succeed because he will have approximately 200 at-bats where the middle infield will be at double play depth and the first baseman will be holding a runner on. How many opportunities will Pierre have like this when he’s batting leadoff? The pitcher doesn’t get on first as much as Furcal…I guarantee you that. This type of situation will play to Pierre’s strength and the sight of Furcal going first to third will become common at the Ravine.

2) Pierre is a great contact hitter. Furcal has 3912 career at bats and 573 K’s while Pierre has 4110 career at bats and 249 K’s. His ability to put the ball in play makes him the perfect #2 hitter.

3) Pierre is a better bunter than Furcal. Why not make Pierre’s outs productive by moving a runner over and giving Nomar and Kent a chance at getting that runner home.

Your comment that we shouldn’t care about OBP doesn’t lend well to your credibility on the subject…is there a new rule that your run doesn’t count if it originated with a walk?