March 2007
Notes from Vero Beach Part III
Dodger trainer Stan Conte said Monday that the injury to Hong-Chih Kuo, must fully heal before Kuo can begin to throw again. "This is not a long-lasting or career-threatening injury," Conte said. "It just takes time to heal." He will be out 4-6 weeks. I guess Stan Conte (ex-Giants trainer) must be wondering out loud at this point about all of these injuries. The Dish – When he came over the Dodgers switched their daily physical training routines. The Dodgers now complete their "indirectly" related baseball training before they proceed to their directly baseball related training. Conte is considered one of the game’s best so don’t be overly alarmed, it’s just a run of bad luck it will even itself out (hopefully), in San Francisco his methods, eventually led to a sizable decrease in the over-all DL time some pretty elderly Giants teams.
The Dish – Chad Billingsley will take the 5th spot in the rotation from Brett Tomko, once and for all by midseason. He has been put in the role of long relief in order to allow him and Dodger pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt enough time to work on his expected command issues and develop his sub-par straight changeup against major league hitters, once he gets that sorted – lookout! He is a classic power pitcher and with a fastball, curve and slider that are already at major league level. If you have the space, keep him as a reserve until he gets that call. By all means if you’re in a keeper hang onto him he is going to be very valuable. Look for about 10-12 wins as his upside for 2007.
James Loney and Andy LaRoche are both headed to Las Vegas. They will continue to see time in the outfield since both are blocked at the major league level.
Larry Bigbie continues to make case for himself as 5th outfielder as does slugger Matt Kemp. Kemp has much more upside but needs to play everyday look for Bigbie to make the 25 man roster.
Brady Clark
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they have acquired right-handed hitting outfielder Brady Clark and cash considerations from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Elmer Dessens, according to Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti.
"Brady is a very versatile outfielder who will add depth to our club," said Colletti. "He’s shown that he can hit and that he can play all three outfield positions well. His character and work ethic will only add to the positive atmosphere in the clubhouse."
Brady Clark will be the fourth outfielder, the fact that he is right-handed was very important, since Jason Repko is facing season ending surgery. This trade will allow the Dodgers to keep young Matt Kemp (who also hits from the right side) and James Loney playing everyday in Las Vegas until they are need back in LA.
Look at the Brady Clark deal as nothing more than a quick fix. Clark remains a weak-hitting journeyman player at this point in his career. He will help the Dodgers more than he will your fantasy team. He should be avoided at draft time.
Dodgers’ Furcal injures left ankle
X-rays on Rafael Furcal’s ankle were negative. Jason "Hard Luck Life" Repko is back on crutches and will be having an MRI on his left hamstring. Pretty scary scene.
Andy LaRoche and Wilson Betemit
That said, at some point in late 2007 or 2008 he will become the Dodger de facto third baseman. He’s that good and his talent (25-30 Home Run Power) will win out in the end. Another good thing is that his shoulder appears to be healed (he had surgery at the end of last season). Look for him to open the season in Las Vegas.
For now, Wilson Betemit has the inside track on the position. Betemit, however, is far better suited for part-time utility work and his hold on the job is not iron clad. It’s very possible that Nomar will eventually see enough time over at third to qualify in most leagues since Grady Little will be trying to get first baseman James Loney’s potent bat into the line-up as often as possible.
Don’t draft Betemit as anything more than a role player, since there are better third base options out there, but do add LaRoche, if you are in a keeper league. He is going to be a good one
Brad Penny
Brad Penny was scratched from his scheduled start against the Mets tonight because of right shoulder stiffness. An MRI reportedly showed no new structural damage. "I just don’t want to go into the season not feeling 100 percent," said Penny. "If this was the regular season, I wouldn’t miss it. It’s just a little stiff and I don’t want it to progress and get any worse and affect the next start." Penny has two starts remaining this spring and will be closely watched.
R.I.P. Bowie Kuhn (1926-2007)
Former MLB Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn passed away. Kuhn was a true giant of the game. No one, with the possible exception of Marvin Miller, has had a greater impact on the business of baseball in the past 40 years. As many of you will remember, Kuhn was commissioner from 1969-84, fifteen years of tremendous labor strife including the infamous Messersmith and McNally saga that led to the demise of Baseball’s draconian reserve clause and ushered in the era of free agency and record television revenue. Let us also not forget that he was also the man behind the designated hitter “experiment” that many of us (yours truly included) feel has cheapened the statistics of the grand old game.
Kuhn was also the target of much deserved criticisms for his perceived racial insensitivity. He missed Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, wanted to house the plaques of Negro leaguers in a separate wing of the Hall of Fame, personally added Carl Yastrzemski to the 1983 All Stars even though he had refused to give the same honor to Willie Stargell a year earlier, and described Jim Bouton’s now classic Ball Four as "detrimental to baseball" and demanded it’s recall. Bouton’s book detailed, among other things, the widespread use of recreational drugs in baseball, a point made all the more apparent and poignant after the sensational Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985 which saw the suspensions of eleven ballplayers and tarnished the reputations of many more.
Notes from Vero Beach Part II
Today in front of a big crowd at Dodgertown, Hong-Chiu Kuo was matched against Japanese sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka. Unfortunately, Kuo did very little to advance his chances of winning the hotly contested 5th and final spot in the Dodger rotation.
In an unusual move Hong-Chiu Kuo chose to pitch “out of the stretch” for the whole of the rain-shorted game against a much depleted Boston line-up (no Manny or Ortiz). For someone poised to become either the 5th starter of Los Angeles or the ace of Las Vegas, it was a curious decision – and one that he will rue for the rest of this season. Not only was he tagged for three home runs, but during one terrible at bat against Matsuzaka, he still managed to walk him despite an 0-2 advantage! And this with Dice-K under strict managerial orders not to swing at anything. (Mike Hampton seriously injured himself during batting practice a week ago so Terry Francona was taking no chances.) How do you say very ugly in Taiwanese? It’s likely Kuo just booked his passage to Las Vegas with today’s performance.
Earlier this week, Grady Little raised a few eyebrows by deciding to send Chad Billingsley to the pen. Clearly, he feels that Billingsley is just not ready for the rotation yet. Long relief duty should allow him to work on his command and poise without the added pressure of starting.
It would appear that veteran Brett Tomko has once again shown enough in spring training to warrant becoming the 5th starter. Let’s hope that ‘Mr. March” has better luck sustaining his early success in 2007 then he has had in the past two seasons. Still too early to tell but the race for the 5th Dodger starter is fast coming to an unpleasant conclusion. If you are looking to round out your fantasy rotations I would look elsewhere.
Notes from Vero Beach Part I
Hong-Chih Kuo tested positive for a banned stimulant prior to the Asian Games last December (which was later won by his Taiwan team). By the way, Kuo was held out of the final game due to a sore arm not because of the failed test. Kuo said that he did not take performance enhancers and blamed the failed test on a Chinese ginseng based cold medication. MLB will not be taking any action against Kuo. This took place during International match play over which they have no jurisdiction. They ruled the same as they did for the Freddy Garcia case last year which was for a very different “herbal” medication.
Two Dodger youngsters are spending time in the outfield this spring in hopes of making the big club by adding to their versatility. Third basemen Andy LaRoche and First baseman James Loney have been working out in left and right field, respectively. Since both are blocked by veterans, manager Grady Little is all for this type of unselfish enthusiasm. He also insists on sound fundamental play. Despite everyone’s best intentions, both players look pretty uncomfortable defensively and with the recent injury (quadriceps strain) to fourth outfielder Jason Repko, it underscores the need for more outfield depth.
And it’s not just the youngsters, either. Nomar Garciaparra has said that he would be willing to play third for the team, if needed. Good news for the thinly-manned infield. Rafael Furcal and Marlon Anderson should both be playing by end of the week.
One of the more interesting positional battles is for the last starting spot. Brett Tomko, Hong-Chih Kuo, Chin-Hui Tsao, Chad Billingsley and Mark Hendrickson — all of whom have shown the ability to be productive starters in the past — are all having good springs. However, I think Tomko will be headed to the bullpen where he is better suited and Tsao will likely be sent to Las Vegas (AAA). With depth like this perhaps a deal for a corner outfielder might be in the works.
2007 may be the final season for former NL MVP (and likely future Hall of Famer) Jeff Kent. The five time all-star is the only second baseman to have 100 or more RBIs in six consecutive seasons (1997-2002). The great Rogers Hornsby only had five 100+ RBI seasons in his entire career! That’s how good Jeff Kent was at his best. "Last year I talked about it a lot. This year I won’t," Kent said. "Maybe that’s the telltale sign that it (my last season) might be this year."
2007 LOS ANGELES DODGERS REVIEW
2007 LOS ANGELES DODGERS REVIEW
2006 finish: 88-74, 2nd place in NL West by tie-breaker behind San Diego Padres ; Lost division series to the New York Mets.
Manager: Grady Little (2nd year with Dodgers: 88-74; Overall: 276-210)
Notable Arrivals: RHP Jason Schmidt, CF Juan Pierre, LF Luis Gonzalez, LHP Randy Wolf, C Mike Lieberthal, RHP Rudy Seanez, RHP Chin-Hui Tsao. Dodger owner Frank McCourt put his money on the line this winter in an all out effort to bring a championship back to LA and should be commended for his boldness. He spent $109.5 Million for Pierre , Schmidt and Nomar alone.
Notable Departures: OF J.D. Drew, RHP Greg Maddux, IF Julio Lugo, RHP Eric Gagne, OF Kenny Lofton, C Toby Hall, RHP Aaron Sele, RHP Franquelis Osoria, C Einar Diaz, IF Oscar Robles. In truth we never saw the real JD Drew or Julio Lugo due to injuries they should do well in Boston (if they can regain their health). Greg Maddux and Kenny Lofton’s professionalism will be missed but it is time to move forward with younger players. Eric Gagne has signed with the Rangers and will be missed but in truth he hasn’t been the same since 2004 but for three years he was simply amazing (152 saves during 2002-2004 with a 2003 Cy Young in the bag as well). He is only 31 but has to be considered a low-tier #2 closer at best now.
Rotation: RHP Jason Schmidt, RHP Derek Lowe, RHP Brad Penny, LHP Randy Wolf, and RHP Chad Billingsley with LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, and LHP Mark Hendrickson in reserve.
Relievers: Closer: RHP Takashi Saito; Setup men: RHP Jonathan Broxton, RHP Brett Tomko, RHP Elmer Dessens, RHP Yhency Brozoban, LHP Joe Beimel, LHP Tim Hamulack, LHP Eric Stultz, RHP D.J. Houlton, and RHP Chin-Hui Tsao.
Regulars: SS Rafael Furcal, CF Juan Pierre, 1B Nomar Garciaparra, 2B Jeff Kent, LF Luis Gonzalez, C Russell Martin, 3B Wilson Betemit, and RF Andre Ethier .
Role players: C Mike Lieberthal, 1B/OF James Loney, 1B/3B Olmedo Saenz, IF Ramon Martinez
Non-Roster invitees: LHP’s Scott Elbert and Matt White, RHP’s Joe Mays, Jonathan Meloan, Rudy Seanez ,Travis Smith and Dario Vergas. Catchers; A.J. Ellis ,Ken Huckaby, Sandy Martinez and Kelly Stinnett. Infielders: Tony Abreu, Chin Lung Hu, Damian Jackson, Fernando Tatis. Outfielders: Larry Bigbie and Choo Freeman.
Rotisserie sleepers: Randy Wolf is healthy again after two injury-interrupted seasons and is ready and raring to go. Remember in 2003 this guy was 16-10 and tossed 200 innings with a 4.23 ERA. The ex-Pepperdine star is going to make quite an impact in 2007. Look for him to make a solid #3 starter. Applications for the new Wolf Pack are now being accepted. In and Out Burgers lookout the Wolfman is back in town by the way he likes his fries “Animal Style”. Let’s just hope he does not pick up the weight dropped by they newly svelte Brad Penny.. Mr. Penny has reported to camp in great shape he lost 15 pounds over the winter due to a new based fruit diet. Penny has always had #1 stuff but has had trouble staying healthy the weight loss might help if so he will make an excellent #2 for your roto staff.
The Dish:
The top of the order of Furcal and Pierre should be lethal and produce over 200 runs scored and around 90 steals. Look for the Dodgers to be a very explosive speed based club a lot like the Cardinals of the late 80’s who were led by Vince Coleman and Willie McGee. They may not be that good but they are going to give opposing NL pitchers fits all season long.
The 3-4-5 would have been amazing six seasons ago but hopefully Nomar, Kent and Gonzalez can remain healthy enough to play 140 games apiece. Yes, it’s a long shot but if they falter look for Matt Kemp and James Loney to be tossed into the mix.
The bottom third of the line-up includes includes Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and Wilson Betemit means that there are no easy outs 1-8. Look for the Dodgers to score a ton of runs.
The pitching staff could be the class of the league and should be good enough for the Dodgers to challenge for the National League title. In a short series they could be very tough to beat.
Predicted finish: 92-71, 1st place
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