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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New Rules
In MLB has updated its rule book for the first time since 1996. Some of the highlights include: resumption of suspended games, automatic 10-game suspension for defacing or applying "soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sandpaper, emery paper or other foreign substance" to a ball and gender objectivity: The rulebook now includes the disclaimer that references "to ‘he,’ ‘him’ or ‘his’ shall be deemed to be a reference to ‘she,’ ‘her’ or ‘hers’" where applicable. Here’s hoping a future Jennie Finch makes it to a minor league park near you someday!
Ex-Met (now Baltimore Oriole) Steve "The Human Rain Delay" Trachsel may find facing A-Rod, Jeter, Big Papi and Manny even more difficult with the new rule changes concerning the leagues most notorious time wasters. All pitchers must deliver a ball within 12 seconds (down from 20) with no one on base and hitters must keep one foot in the batter’s box throughout his (or hers) at-bat. Those rules, which were in effect in the minors, last year, carry a penalty of a ball (for the pitcher) or a strike (for the hitter).
Also, games that are called with a tie score will now be resumed from the point of stoppage, rather than replayed entirely. "Tie games will resume prior to the next scheduled game between the teams, in the visitors’ park if no more games are scheduled at the same site. If no more games are scheduled between the teams, the tie would stand unless an outcome would decide a playoff spot — in which case the game would be replayed in its entirety".
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