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Thread: What are the Dodgers doing???

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    What are the Dodgers doing???

    Aside from the Rockies, guess which NL team scored the most runs in 2014?

    Yup, the Dodgers. And it wasn't even close. The third most was scored by Washington, who had 32 fewer runs than the Dodgers. And this was a team playing half its games in a pitchers' park.

    Conclusion? THIS WAS THE BEST OFFENSIVE TEAM IN THE NL, when you adjust for park factors! Why are they reinventing it? Relief pitching was the problem last year. Bottom of rotation starting pitching was also a bit of a problem. But not the offense.

    Nevertheless, the new regime has decided to wipe much of the offensive slate clean.

    First, Hanley Ramirez wasn't re-signed. That made sense. Most agreed that the defensive-challenged and oft-injured Ramirez wasn't worth a big contract.

    Then they picked up Rollins from the Phillies. Okay, he only had a year to go, and is likely just a stopgap until Cory Seager is ready.

    But then it got weird.

    Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas, and Dan Haren were traded to the Marlins for big-time pitching prospect Andrew Heaney and a few nobodies. I didn't love this, but I understood it. Gordon isn't a sure thing, and may regress back to his poor-hitting ways. Haren is contractual dead weight. And Heaney has value as a trading piece, with most assuming he would be shipped to the Phillies for Cole Hamels.

    Then they immediately shipped Heaney across town to the Angels, for Howie Kendrick. But Kendrick wasn't anythign special last year. He hit .293, but only 7 HR, and lacks Gordon's blazing speed. Kendrick was very good defensively, but so was Gordon, who didn't get nearly enough credit for his defensive improvements and contributions.

    But then the most puzzling thing happened. Matt Kemp was sent to the Padres for Yasmani Grandal and a few nobodies.

    Huh??

    Kemp has 5 years and $107 million left on his contract, but the Dodgers shipped $31 million to the Padres. So the Padres get him for 5 years for $76 million -- or about $15 million per year! Good deal for the Padres, right? Why are the Dodgers trying to dump a player like Kemp to save $15 mil per year?

    Grandal is a .245 career hitter with some decent (but not spectacular) power. Nothing special at all.

    Most concerning, it's THEIR OWN FREAKING DIVISION! If Kemp hits like he did in the second half of 2014, the Dodgers are going to suffer for this, even if the Padres don't contend. Kemp will likely beat them in some games, as they play the Padres a ton of times every year. The Padres have less to worry about, as it's unlikely that Yasmani Grandal will be a game-changer or a Padre-killer in the coming years.

    2014 lineup:
    C AJ Ellis
    1B Adrian Gonzalez
    2B Dee Gordon
    SS Hanley Ramirez
    3B Juan Uribe
    LF Matt Kemp
    CF Yasiel Puig
    RF Carl Crawford

    2015 lineup:
    C Yasmani Grandal
    1B Adrian Gonzalez
    2B Howie Kendrick
    SS Jimmy Rollins
    3B Juan Uribe
    LF Joc Pedersen
    CF Yasiel Puig
    RF Carl Crawford

    The 2014 version looked a hell of a lot scarier for opposing teams.

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    Dodgers are definitely a worse team as they stand right now

    unrelated but i just heard cespedes is 100% a tiger, for ricky p under the assumption to keep scherzer.

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    Serial Blogger BeerAndPoker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lewfather View Post
    Dodgers are definitely a worse team as they stand right now

    unrelated but i just heard cespedes is 100% a tiger, for ricky p under the assumption to keep scherzer.
    Porcello value right now after his career season is huge and no guarantee he don't fall back into his old ways so if it makes room for Scherzer then the deal is cool with me. According to reports the Red Sox are also giving up two players later to be named in the deal. Both Porcello and Cespedes have one year left on their contracts.

    As for the Dodgers making what looks like cuts who knows? They still have a shit load of money to play around with so maybe they will go after a key free agent still.

    Edit: One guy the Tigers got in the deal is relief pitcher Alex Wilson. His sample size is small but he did alright last year in the games he pitched which obviously the Tigers need bullpen help.

    Tigers are also rumored to be making another move for a Reds pitcher today so if that is the case depending on who they get it might be adios to signing Scherzer.
    Last edited by BeerAndPoker; 12-11-2014 at 08:17 AM.

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    Platinum ToasterOven's Avatar
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    I wouldn't complain, Druff. The Dodgers sold high on Gordon and paid market price for Kendrick. Gordon was very likely a fluke this year, considering his high BABIP. He might be a guy that struggles to get to a .300 OBP going forward. And you can't steal first base.

    Gordon's defensive metrics land him in the below average range, while Kendrick's put him solidly above average.

    So, you have a second baseman that is a better hitter and better fielder. Pretty good moves.

    Having Hanley at short is a disaster. All considered, Rollins for Hanley might be a wash because of all the defensive runs Hanley allows at short.

    Something had to happen in the outfield, with 5 players and 3 terrible contracts. Kemp is the only one with value of the Ethier/Crawford/Kemp group.

     
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    Diamond mulva's Avatar
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    wow..so many moves. i like the bold approach. it was pretty evident the dodgers didn't want to go into next season the same way they did the last 2 years w/ their group of players. i don't follow LA that closely but the prior 2 teams did not play to potential and went through spells where they could not score.

    it's pretty evident that you don;t need an AS lineup to win or get to the WS. Just timely hitting and great pitching


    lets face it gordon was an out maker the year before last. he's not a 290 hitter, but even if he regresses to 250 he still have quite a bit of value being young. but kendrick is a better hitter, better defensive player as well. outside of speed. LA improves here.

    it's almost unheard of to trade a top LH pitching prospect for 1 year of an aging 2nd basemen w/o it coming back to haunt you. but that tells you how urgent they are, and how much they prefer howie to the FA players....again..this could end up being a poor move...but there was a demonstrated need at 2B and can buy better SP at this present day. they did improve from haren to mccarthy...and it could be a major one. mccarthy could easily put up 2/3 starter numbers in LA.

    stinks losing kemp,..but who would take either?..and they needed to move somebody....you really have to like the potential of yasmani as well. he could easily become one of the best catchers in game. this improves the dodgers defensively and offensively at catcher.




    maybe the dogers will use the marlins prospect to aquire hammels..and then it migh tbe lights out for everybody
    Quote Originally Posted by bottomset_69 View Post
    Johnny Manziel will be the 1st pick in the draft. I truly believe not only will Johnny Manziel be rookie of the year, quite possibly he will be MVP as his style will shock defensive coordinators. Manziel may only be 6 feet tall, but he has size 15 feet. And he has HUGE hands. I know some NFL scouts so I know what I am talking about.



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    Pederson is way better than Ethier.

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    FWIW I agree with toaster oven.....Kemp is one of the worst fielding outfielders and given the situation was the logical one to go although I am a fan and like his hitting.....they have upgraded at the keystone positions imo without sacrificing too much (seem clearly to be looking for an interim until Seager gets ready) and acquired a pitcher at more or less fair value......Friedman is much much sharper than Coletti and his forerunners and is excellent at making these kinds of moves.....my dog could figure out Greinke and Kershaw but Friedman is excellent at doing well without paying very top of market prices....Dee Gordon was way overrated in my view and for a second base man give me a higher batting avg with less power every time, as TO said, you can't steal first base and four walks in second half last year won't work for a 2nd baseman imo.....
    Last edited by Hurdleking; 12-11-2014 at 10:14 AM.

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    How Could You? WillieMcFML's Avatar
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    meanwhile the cards just upgraded their bench and added a right handed backup for matt adams

    *giggling*

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    Platinum herbertstemple's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WillieMcFML View Post


    meanwhile the cards just upgraded their bench and added a right handed backup for matt adams

    *giggling*
    Mark Reynolds. Yikes. Doesn't he strike 6 times a game?

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    How Could You? WillieMcFML's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by herbertstemple View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by WillieMcFML View Post


    meanwhile the cards just upgraded their bench and added a right handed backup for matt adams

    *giggling*
    Mark Reynolds. Yikes. Doesn't he strike 6 times a game?
    he won't ever have six at bats in one game

    power option off the bench, and will spell adams against left handers

    only $2 million. i like it

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    Platinum ToasterOven's Avatar
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    Mark Reynolds historically hits righties better than lefties. And he sucks, too. Matt Adams hits lefties better than Mark Reynolds.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    First off, a power bat off the bench is very important to have. It's one of the most overlooked pieces when building a ballclub. So the Mark Reynolds signing for the Cards was great. Remember how many games Tony Clark won for his various clubs in the late innings? Reynolds is a very similar type of player. You don't want him to play every day and hit .210, but he's great to have on the bench when down 3 in the 9th with two men on base.

    Regarding the Dodgers:

    I watched the vast majority of games last year. Hanley Ramirez was TERRIBLE at short. Absolutely terrible. So I wasn't sorry at all to see him go, especially with his recurring injury problems.

    Dee Gordon, however, was very underrated defensively. He made many spectacular plays (mostly related to his speed and agility) which don't show up in the defensive metrics, even the metrics meant to account for such things. He also was fairly solid with routine plays. This is in contrast to his days as a shortstop, where he really did suck. Is Kendrick a better fielder? Yes. But not by as much as people think. The Dodgers' infield defense was actually very good last year, with the exception of Ramirez. There was no need for a defensive upgrade at 2nd.

    With that said, I understand the other arguments against Dee Gordon. He struggled in the 2nd half. He didn't walk enough. He struggled badly in 2012 and 2013. There is no indication that you can count on him to be a great leadoff hitter for years to come. He might end up a poor man's Juan Pierre. Also, his lack of power was so bad that it was hard to count on him hitting it out of the infield. He legged out a TON of infield hits (like 40, I think). That's great when the bases are empty, but it was a disaster when he came up to bat with the bases loaded. So that was also a problem. It's one thing to lack HR power, but he lacked "hit it out of the infield" power.

    I was still a Dee Gordon fan because he tried hard, and his SB numbers were so good that, provided he gets on base, he can become a real game changer, especially in low-scoring contests. But I totally get what Friedman/Zaidi did. They were able to pick up a high-value prospect in Heaney for a questionable leadoff man and a mediocre pitcher with a $10 million price tag.

    I just don't like what they did with Heaney. He was worth more than Kendrick. Heaney was the 2nd best left handed prospect in baseball, behind the Dodgers' own Julio Urias. I bet the Phillies would have liked him in a trade for Hamels, and if not the Phillies, they could have shipped him to some other team for a high value player.

    Regarding Kemp: If this were a year ago, I would be applauding this trade. But it's not a year ago. Kemp returned to himself in the second half of 2014. He was extremely productive in that half season, and finally looked like the same player who was so dominant in 2011. Given that salaries have again skyrocketed, his once-gargantuan 5 years/$107 million suddenly looks reasonable, and the 5 years/$76 million the Padres got is downright good.

    Unless Kemp regresses, the Dodgers downgraded. His defense is indeed lousy, but being a crappy left fielder is not the same as being a crappy shortstop. A good-hitting Kemp is worth a lot, and changes the face of any lineup. He is an impact player. They just gave a division rival an impact player, and now they will have to face him like 18 times a year.

    My big problem here is that Friedman/Zaidi might be treating the Dodgers like a small market team. When you're a Tampa Bay or Oakland, saving $15 million per year and picking up cheap, productive players in return is great. When you're a deep-pocketed monster like the Dodgers, not so much. You don't rejoice about saving $15 million per year on a big market club unless the $15 million you're saving is for a player worth $5 million or less. You just should not be salary dumping impact players if you can afford to have them on your payroll and you are looking to contend. That's doing it wrong.

    Friedman/Zaidi should have used the Dodgers' deep pockets to dump the mostly dead weight of Crawford and/or Ethier. You're not going to get much back for them, and you're going to have to eat a lot of their salary, but at least you solve the crowded OF situation, and you reduce your overall salary by a little. Plenty of teams would have taken Crawford and/or Ethier if they were sent over for the right price (i.e. the Dodgers throwing in enough cash).

    Joc Pederson looked TERRIBLE at the plate in his short stint with the Dodgers last year. Totally overmatched. Maybe it was just butterflies, maybe it was just an MLB learning curve, but he didn't look anything like the guy who was killing the ball in the minors. I'm afraid that he might end up suffering from minor league overexposure syndrome, where players left in the minors too long develop bad habits which are useful for hitting bad pitching, but harmful for trying to hit the typical MLB pitcher. Think of it like a poker player who always sits with games full of fish, and isn't used to facing good competition. Drop him in a tough game, and he will get crushed, even if he can beat the fish better than many of the good players can.

    I'm not saying they shouldn't give Pederson a longer shot to prove himself, but he's not an automatic star.

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    Diamond PLOL's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WillieMcFML View Post

    power option off the bench, and will spell adams against left handers

    only $2 million. i like it
    Would you consider yourself a sports guru?
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    Platinum herbertstemple's Avatar
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    Q What are the Dodgers doing?

    A: New Dodger GM is making this "his" team.

    Dodgers had second best record in NL last year. If nothing else, they played well together. There is simply more downside to all these moves than upside. Excellent 1 2 on starting staff can erase mistakes.

    Is all this change for changes sake?

    I don't like batters that strike out a lot. Unproductive outs are killers.

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    How Could You? WillieMcFML's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PLOL View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by WillieMcFML View Post

    power option off the bench, and will spell adams against left handers

    only $2 million. i like it
    Would you consider yourself a sports guru?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    2015 lineup:
    C Yasmani Grandal
    1B Adrian Gonzalez
    2B Howie Kendrick
    SS Jimmy Rollins
    3B Juan Uribe
    LF Joc Pedersen
    CF Yasiel Puig
    RF Carl Crawford

    The 2014 version looked a hell of a lot scarier for opposing teams.
    Ive read that Pederson will be playing center, puig righ

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    From a Padres fan perspective I like the deal obviously. Kemp gives the Pads a legitimate power hitter, their first since Adrian. Being right handed is better for being a power hitter at Petco Park also. With that being said they will be lucky to finish 3rd again. Druff, come down for a game this year I buy. You return the favor for a game at Dodger stadium. Like was said earlier if the Dodgers somehow get Hamels too they will be hard to beat come playoff time.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by padre33 View Post
    From a Padres fan perspective I like the deal obviously. Kemp gives the Pads a legitimate power hitter, their first since Adrian. Being right handed is better for being a power hitter at Petco Park also. With that being said they will be lucky to finish 3rd again. Druff, come down for a game this year I buy. You return the favor for a game at Dodger stadium. Like was said earlier if the Dodgers somehow get Hamels too they will be hard to beat come playoff time.
    I do want to go to Petco Park for a game at some point.

    I took a tour of it in 2010 in the offseason.

    When you go to games, what kind of seats do you get, though? I decided years ago that I only like seeing baseball games at the ballpark in really good seats.

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    I can get very good seats. Where do you like to sit, behind home plate or along the lines? I have season tickets to SDSU hoops if you want to see a defensive battle when conference play starts.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by padre33 View Post
    I can get very good seats. Where do you like to sit, behind home plate or along the lines? I have season tickets to SDSU hoops if you want to see a defensive battle when conference play starts.
    I like sitting on the 1B or 3B side, field level. At least at Dodger Stadium, but I have to imagine that's where I'd like at other stadiums, too.

    Behind home is only good if you're higher up and don't have the foul screen in your way. But I don't like being higher up.

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