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Friday, December 09, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves
Baseball America's Top 10 Dodgers Prospects
Yup, it's that time of year, and so here's Baseball America's top 10 Dodger prospects (pay for the complete scouting reports yerself):1. RHP Chad BillingsleyI tend to agree with BTF's Mike Emeigh:
2. 3B Andy LaRoche
3. SS/3B Joel Guzman
4. C Russell Martin
5. RHP Jonathan Broxton
6. LHP Scott Elbert
7. 3B Blake DeWitt
8. OF Matt Kemp
9. 2B Estanislau Abreu
10. SS Chin-Lung Hu
This organization has been hyped to death, but it’s been lacking in the delivery of prospects to the major leagues. Forgive me if I wait to see which of these guys actually break through before I get on the bandwagon. Billingsley is legit, if he stays healthy, but the other guys have some work to do. I honestly don’t think there’s as much upside here as BA does.LA has an odd arrangement of farm teams. Columbus and Jacksonville are pitchers’ parks in pitchers’ leagues. Vero Beach is a hitters’ park in a pitcher’s league, and then there’s Vegas. Dodger prospects are exposed to a variety of conditions as they work their way up the chain, which makes it tough to evaluate them statistically, especially the pitchers.
I Repeat: Manny's Going Nowhere
Manny Ramirez, despite all the huffing and puffing published elsewhere, is going nowhere, according to stories in the Boston Globe and ESPN. This never looked like a deal that could get done, and I didn't expect it to. This thread is over.Roster Notes
- The Baltimore Sun reports that the Erstad-for-Javy Lopez deal was cancelled by the Angels. Ugh.
- Jim Bowden is an idiot: Alfonso Soriano wants to play second, not the outfield.
- The Rangers and Padres continue to discuss a swap of Adam Eaton and Kevin Mench, among other players.
- The Cards have re-entered the Matt Morris "sweepstakes"; the Giants, Mariners, and Rangers are also interested in the free agent pitcher.
Kevin's Got A Hench Dodger Fans Will Think Little Of Grady
If you have nothing nice to say, come right over here by me:Little is the only manager I've ever seen for whom the glacial pace of baseball moved too fast. Every situation caught him by surprise. Any time he was expected to counter an opposing manager's move, it was like the shot clock was about to expire and he was heaving one up from 35 feet....
I totally agree that Grady should not be judged solely on what happened on the night of October 16, 2003. He should be judged also on all the mindless moves he made over the course of two seasons in Boston that contributed a. to a team with the 2-3 finishers in the Cy Young balloting missing the playoffs in 2002 and b. to a team with a solid starting staff and a record-setting lineup finishing six games behind the Yankees in 2003.
Comments:
Did you actually expect the Angels to make that trade? If they weren't going to offer Bengie arbitration for a year, they weren't going to pick up another catcher for that much money. Besides, the last time the Angels "cancelled" a trade for Erstad, they won the World Series. And it already appears that Erstad is going to move back to CF, so that wish of your was already granted.
Josh -- Erstad will play center until he falls apart at the position, which should be about the All-Star break.
Marc -- and it would be burned, too.
Marc -- and it would be burned, too.
That's a good point, Daniel. He had a career year in 2003; I doubt the Angels get anything like that.
Which lineup would you rather have:
CF: Erstad
1B: Kotchman
DH: Figgins
or
CF: Figgins
1B: Kotchman
DH: Rivera
I was hoping for the latter. Couldn't the Angels trade Erstad for a reliever? I would be relieved, anyway.
CF: Erstad
1B: Kotchman
DH: Figgins
or
CF: Figgins
1B: Kotchman
DH: Rivera
I was hoping for the latter. Couldn't the Angels trade Erstad for a reliever? I would be relieved, anyway.
# posted by 
: 12/09/2005 09:10:00 AM
: 12/09/2005 09:10:00 AM
Erstad could probably be as good as Figgins for a half year, and if he injures himself playing, so what?
It's looking more and more like Figgins is the CF of the future (with all the young IF prospects arriving soon). As Rob wrote, ride Erstad until he breaks, then give the job to Figgins. By then, we won't need Figgins as an IF anymore, because the young guns will that much closer to the big leagues. And if Erstad stays healthy - we get Gold Glove defense for a year.
Frankly, I would rather have Rivera at DH than Javy. The Times report suggests that that's what the Angels were ultimately thinking, too.
Frankly, I would rather have Rivera at DH than Javy. The Times report suggests that that's what the Angels were ultimately thinking, too.
# posted by : 12/09/2005 09:30:00 AM
: 12/09/2005 09:30:00 AM
My point was that I'd rather have Rivera in the batting lineup than Erstad. With Erstad in CF, it forces Figgins to DH, leaving no room for Rivera.
# posted by : 12/09/2005 09:39:00 AM
: 12/09/2005 09:39:00 AM
I also tend to agree with Emeigh's assessment of the Dodger farm system. Everyone loooovvvves to talk about all the great prospects headed for the big club, all the great arms and big sticks. In the last 10 years, how many Dodger prospects have made serious noise in the bigs, either for the Dodgers or for another team?
Edwin Jackson is a great example of the career arc of a big time Dodger prospect. Through much of his ascent, he's got "can't miss" written all over him. Does anyone think he can "miss" now?
While drooling over the current batch of prospects, I think a lot of Dodger fans forget how few of these prospects, no matter how good, will actually ever pan out. At least that's the impression I get from reading DT and 6-4-2.
Waiting for Dodger prospects to actually help the Dodgers is a bit like waiting for UFOs to land in your back yard.
On another note, thanks for diligently keeping up on all the hot stove action, Rob. When I need an update (with a dash of acerbic wit), your site is my first stop.
Edwin Jackson is a great example of the career arc of a big time Dodger prospect. Through much of his ascent, he's got "can't miss" written all over him. Does anyone think he can "miss" now?
While drooling over the current batch of prospects, I think a lot of Dodger fans forget how few of these prospects, no matter how good, will actually ever pan out. At least that's the impression I get from reading DT and 6-4-2.
Waiting for Dodger prospects to actually help the Dodgers is a bit like waiting for UFOs to land in your back yard.
On another note, thanks for diligently keeping up on all the hot stove action, Rob. When I need an update (with a dash of acerbic wit), your site is my first stop.
# posted by : 12/09/2005 09:48:00 AM
: 12/09/2005 09:48:00 AM
So, wait, are you saying that Chavez Ravine is like Area 51? In which case, their AAA team is especially aptly named...
Some of them will come up and be useful, I'm sure of it. It's just that I think the number is much smaller than is widely believed.
Some of them will come up and be useful, I'm sure of it. It's just that I think the number is much smaller than is widely believed.
Following-up on the Grady Little bashing, the Sportsguy dropped a comment in the middle of his NFL picks:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051209
I don't know what to think. Half the "experts" say he has a great baseball mind, the other half say he's a backwoods hick who doesn't know what he's doing. Unfortunately, the guys bashing Little are the only ones with facts to back up their arguments.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051209
I don't know what to think. Half the "experts" say he has a great baseball mind, the other half say he's a backwoods hick who doesn't know what he's doing. Unfortunately, the guys bashing Little are the only ones with facts to back up their arguments.
Cigarcow -- I'm not sure that's true. The man did win multiple manager of the year awards in the minors.
It's just that I think the number is much smaller than is widely believed.
The number will be smaller than is widely believed by the optimists and larger than is widely believed by the pessimists. There are plenty of people who don't think a single Dodger prospect will pan out.
The number will be smaller than is widely believed by the optimists and larger than is widely believed by the pessimists. There are plenty of people who don't think a single Dodger prospect will pan out.
By the way, the Angels DID acquire J.C. Romero today, shipping promising Single A (Cedar Rapids) shortstop Alexi Casilla to the Twins.
# posted by : 12/09/2005 12:06:00 PM
: 12/09/2005 12:06:00 PM
Bowden is the center of his universe, thinking he is smart enough to reinvent the wheel, therefore he figures moving Soriano to the outfield will be no problem. Little does he know that Soriano is not exactly the epitomy of a team player.
I don't think Casilla was on the 40-man roster, so the Angels are one over, I guess...
# posted by : 12/09/2005 01:19:00 PM
: 12/09/2005 01:19:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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