I just finally finished my semester. I had three term papers and a final, but I survived. My last final was yesterday, so I've taken a little time to recover. Now, as promised, here are my thoughts about what the Dodgers have done this offseason... (Aaron, I know you've been waiting for this!)
- Today marked the end of Eric Gagne as a Dodger, who signed with the Texas Rangers. After struggling as a mediocre starting pitcher, he dominated baseball for three years as a closer. Then came the knee, back, and elbow problems that basically kept him off the field for two years. He now says he's healthy. He said that before. He suposedly left because he wanted a chance to close and the Dodgers wouldn't guarantee that. Even though I'm sad to see him go, I think the Dodgers made the right move.
- After an exciting couple months as a Dodger, Greg Maddux signed with San Diego. Again, I think the Dodgers made the right move by not offering more money. Although he's still a good pitcher, he's old and doesn't pitch more than six innings at a time.
- JD "Nancy" Drew. Where do I even begin with this guy! Two years ago, he signed a five year contract that gave him the option to void the final three years of the deal and become a free agent. In September, he said he planned on honoring the rest of the contract since he'd made a commitment. A couple days before the deadline to void the contract, he told the Dodgers he'd changed his mind and wanted to be a free agent. He's now going to be in Boston for the next five years. Good luck with that, Red Sox.
He's one of those "potential" type of players. When he's healthy, he does fine. But health has been an issue. On the plus side, his only trips to the disabled list over the past three years have been because he was hit by a pitch a couple times. On the other side, he's timid both at the plate and in the field. When batting, he's way too willing to take a walk. He ends up with decent numbers (20 HR, 100 RBI last year), but I have no idea when or where those happen. Every time he's up to bat in a clutch situation, he takes ball four. On defense, he rarely goes 100%. Late in the season, there was a ball hit to the corner. It was catchable, but he would've ended up running into the wall. Drew slowed down and let the ball fall for an extra-base hit. Things like this happen all the time. People talk about his good defense, which is true, but he never makes the great plays.
- Because of the JD Drew fiasco, the Dodgers re-signed Nomar. They didn't want to lose two of their top batters, so they gave Nomar two years. I know Nomar is popular in LA, but I'm not a huge fan of this contract. He played great in the first half of the season, but faded badly. Now, he's blocking the path of James Loney, the Dodgers' top first base prospect.
- Juan Pierre is going to be a disappointment. I think he'll be ok, but at 5 years and $44 million, he's not going to be good enough. I hope I'm proven wrong.
- Luis Gonzalez should be fine. He was given a one year deal designed to give Matt Kemp one more year in AAA.
- I'm looking forward to watching Jason Schmidt as a Dodger for the next three years. Every time we faced him, I was nervous. The best game I've ever been to was this past August when the Dodgers beat the Giants 1-0. Schmidt pitched against Maddux and both guys were amazing. The Dodgers won when Russell Martin hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth.
What the Schmidt signing does is give the Dodgers too many starting pitchers. I think they're up to eight or so, even though they use a five-man rotation. That means three of them will be in the bullpen unless there's a trade. People are talking about trading Brad Penny for another hitter, but I'd rather see them trade Mark Hendrickson or Brett Tomko for some proven middle relievers.
- That excess starting pitching, however, depends upon Randy Wolf, who the Dodgers signed, even though he's recently recovered from major arm surgery. The Dodgers are counting on him pitching well. If he doesn't, at least they've got plenty of other options.
Throughout all this, the Dodgers have been able to keep all their young prospects. They passed on a trade for Manny Ramirez, which would've cost them several prospects. By the way, I (like many others) don't think the Red Sox were ever serious about trading Manny. Their demands were so astronimical, nobody would've made a trade.
One of my favorite aspects about this offseason is the type of people they've signed. Aside from Pierre, everybody has turned down more lucrative deals to play in LA. Wolf, Nomar, and Mike Lieberthal are from LA. Schmidt grew up in a "Dodger family." Gonzo wanted to play for a winner. These are quality people that want to play for the Dodgers.
Good riddance, Nancy Drew. Enjoy Boston. (Chops... don't say I didn't warn you.)
Labels: Sports
Read more!
