Comments on 6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Pickoff Moves

The problem I see with the Dodgers' depth is that ...

2007-01-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

The problem I see with the Dodgers' depth is that it's really garbage, but at least it's present. I'd want to align the different clubs' starters before I came to any conclusions, though, and I confess to a certain familiarity-breeds-contempt tendency here and now.

As for the comparison of pitching staffs between t...

2007-01-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

As for the comparison of pitching staffs between the Dodgers, Padres and Giants, it will be interesting to see which team's staff is better. I do like the Dodgers depth though, even if they trade Penny. I see the staff being Lowe, Schmidt, Wolf, Billingsley and Kuo this year. I wouldn't rule out seeing Scott Elbert break into it at some point in the year, just as Billingsley did last year. I don't see the Giants or Padres having as much depth. In fact Tomko would probably be a starter on either of those staffs.

As a Dodger fan, I'm not really excited about the ...

2007-01-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

As a Dodger fan, I'm not really excited about the Pierre signing either. However, they didn't have a legitimate starting center fielder on the team so they had to sign someone. I would much rather have Pierre than Matthews since I believe that Matthews will return to mediocrity or worse. There are countless examples of players who have had one above average year. I would have preferred that they go after Dave Roberts for a couple of years. However, he is injury prone and the three years that he got from the Giants may be too much.

Josh, As a Dodger fan, I won't be forgetting the J...

2007-01-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Josh,

As a Dodger fan, I won't be forgetting the Juan Pierre deal anytime soon. That said, the Matthews deal is worse because you're right--you know what you are getting with Pierre. I like the Angels just fine and I hope for the best but I wouldn't be surprised if Matthews was released before the end of his contract. I can't say the same thing about Pierre.

And I also take your larger point--we are arguing about which contract is uglier. We can both agree that neither signing was necessary.

How is it that people keep forgetting the Jaun Pie...

2007-01-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

How is it that people keep forgetting the Jaun Pierre 5 year/$45 million deal? As bad as the Matthews pick up was, that has to be a worse contract. You KNOW exactly what you are getting from Pierre, and while it is valuable, it is not worth $45 million. Matthews was paid $1 million more a year than that simply because he has a much higher potential and may have figured it out. And don't forget that the Pierre deal set the market for Matthews (not that the Angels had to be the one to sign him).

I'm less impressed with the Wolf signing than you ...

2007-01-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

I'm less impressed with the Wolf signing than you are, but in light of how this market has played out, the Dodgers did real well for themselves in getting Schmidt at that price and for that short of a commitment. I expect the NL West to be even more of a dogfight this year than last -- the teams at the back (Arizona and Colorado) just keep improving.