Welcome to the world, the Garciaparra girls

As reported by the Dodgers PR-man, Josh Rawitsch, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciaparra's wife, has just given birth to twin girls! Congratulations to the whole family!

Bigbie, Loney or Valdez?

Out of the three reserve players listed above (although I hate to call James Loney that...), which one would you put on the Opening Day roster, considering that:

1. With the acquistion of Brady Clark, a right-handed OF bat off the bench, and Juan Pierre's propensity to play every day, Larry Bigbie might be a long shot, even if one were to account for Jason Repko's season ending injury. I would like to see Bigbie make the roster more than Clark, however, it would mean all our potential pinch-hitter are lef-handed. Not good...

Having said that, I'm not even sure Clark will hit anything, at 34 yo, from the *right* side of the plate...

2. Loney has nothing to prove in Triple-A Vegas, where he tore the league up last year. However, he's the only one of the three with minor league options left, so moving him to Nevada does not mean losing him. Loney is also blocked at his two potential positions by veterans (Nomar Garciaparra at 1B, and Luis Gonzalez at LF).

3. Wilson Valdez (SS/2B) is a utility infielder with potentially less power than Ramon Martinez (who will most probably make the roster as UT/IF). With the repercussions of the injury to Rafael Furcal, though, Valdez has shown during the spring training, that he could at least hit for average, get on base and steal. He's out of minor league options, so basically, if he does not make the roster, he's free to find another club.

Which one would you put on the roster April 1, Dodger Nation and why? :)

Joe Mays stays, will open the season in Las Vegas

In what seems to me a very smart move, the Dodgers retain the rights to former starter Joe Mays, and send him to Las Vegas 51's where he will start ballgames. In another smart move, Joe accepts the assignment to Triple-A (much like Aaron Sele did last March) in hopes he could be called back as soon as any of the fifth starter combo (Brett Tomko / Mark Hendrickson) gets injured or ineffective.

In a perfect world I would have Mays compete with Chad Billingsley for the fifth spot right away, but well - things are far from perfect in this world, and I'm too far from LA, anyway.

One way or another, Mays will should have a chance to resurrect his career within the Dodger organization.

Last at bat brings a "W" over Tribe

Ok, it ended up being 4-3 Dodgers, with Larry Bigbie coming up with the last at bat single (missplayed by and OF error) that scored both Russell Martin (from second) and James Loney (all the way from first). Wow! Loney went 3-for-4 at the plate and about this chasing balls in the RF outfield for the whole afternoon :).

While Bigbie, in the light of Repko's injury has virtually booked a utility OF spot on the Opening Day roster, the same cannot be said about Rudy Seanez. His fastball is simply too predictable and flat (at least that's what it was today), he's too easily hittable and had it not been for a couple of good defensive plays behind him, he would have been on hook for more than 2 ER (and almost a "L").

Not to judge Seanez on a wind-blown HR today, every contact made by the Indians batters was hard and seemed to be hit because of poor location of Rudy's pitches. To be honest, this is also consistent with what I noticed in his earlier seasons with the Red Sox and Padres. Seanez looks to me a second coming of an Elmer Dessens-type of pitcher, without the ability to become an occasional long man (due to age and lack of durability). If he's indeed tabbed to become an elusive "seventh-inning gap bridge" to Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito - I'd be a little bit scared...

Andy La Roche, on the other hand, had a wonderful throw to the plate (AFAIR in the 7th) to erase a triple on a groundball with infield in. Other than that - he struck out at least once (offhand), and looked to me as if he was looking to hack one out of the stadium (with the gusting winds, that might not have been such a bad idea after all :)).

Overall, a game which was very exciting to watch, and one with a happy ending.

Bigbie bound to make the roster

Spare corner outfielder Larry Bigbie's good spring at the plate and the recent injury to Jason Repko, which will keep him away from the field for months, have virtually guaranteed the former an Opening Day roster spot.

Bigbie is currently batting .383 for the spring, with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs and should make an ideal fourth outfielder (when you get past Gonzo, Juan Pierre and Andre Ethier, from left to right). Given their current production and big-league experience, I'd also take him in front of Matt Kemp for the time being (let alone Marlon Anderson).

Spelling Gonzo every fourth game in LF and occasional pinch-hitting duties are in store for Mr. Bigbie at least until Kemp breaks out and/or Repko comes back.

PS. In the photo on the left, doesn't Larry look like a lost buddy of Matt LeBlanc from his "Friends" days?

Knuckle curve

I have just come across a general baseball site called Knuckle Curve. Interesting - especially the stat comparison parts. The person behind this blog, Geoff Young, might be a Padres fan - but his writing has caught my eye well enough to put the Dodgers-Padres rivalry aside when I read his blog.

Photos from Dodgertown

Ernest Reyes, over at Dodgers Blue Heaven has published some amazing Dodger spring training photos. If you haven't seen them recently, it definitely worth having a prolonged look.

Who's playing themselves off the Opening Day roster

Grady Little said in an interview there were virtually no guarantees as to the pitching spots and the managers will pick the best team with the chance to win for the Opening Day roster.

Out of the current players with the big league club, the following, to me, are playing themselves off the Apirl 1 roster (in the order of least probability to stick around):

1. Hong-Chi Kuo - mostly due to shoulder trouble, wildness and inability to relief effectively
2. Elmer Dessens - just too many long-relief candidates better suited than himself to that role (Mays, Mark Hendrickson) or simply younger and more promising in the long run (Chad Billingsley)
3. Joe Mays - there must have been one more demotion / release / injury apart from Kuo and Dessens for him to make the roster.

In the struggle for the incumbent fifth starter position, I think Brett Tomko has just got a tad of a lead over Hendrickson. Even though, purely because Billingsley was tentatively moved to the bullpen for the start of the season.

Had it been up to me, the Dodgers starting rotation now would be: Derek Lowe, Jason Schmidt, Billingsley, Brad Penny, Randy Wolf. Period. No Hand-riggs, no Bombko. Period. But that's just me...

X-rays negative. It's a sprain...

I'm hearing the Furcal ankle X-rays came out negative. Seems like an ankle sprain and things might have been a lot lot worse.

It's still unclear how much time Furcal might be out...

Update: from Tony Jackson of Daily News:

"It doesn't appear Rafael Furcal (moderate left ankle spring) or Jason Repko (high left hamstring strain) will be ready for opening day, although trainer Stan Conte stopped short of saying that when it came to Furcal. "It will be longer than a week," Conte said.

"Right now, this is 100-percent medical. With respect to figuring out when he'll be able to play, that is kind of the least of our concerns at this point." The Dodgers break camp in a week. Do the math, and it doesn't look good for Furcal leading off at Milwaukee on April 2. As for Repko, Conte said, "It will probably be measured in weeks."

Uh-oh, Furcal's down with ankle injury

Bad news, Blue Nation: Raffy Furcal has gone with apparently seriously ankle injury after a collision in shallow center field with Jason Repko. It happened during the first inning of today's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

More news coming up as it becomes available...

PS. Should it be serious to warrant considerable time off the field, the Juan Pierre acquisition would look much better.

Photos from my visit to Fenway Park

A couple of days ago I mentioned how Boston Red Sox' Fenway Park was the second most important baseball stadium to me. Just after Chavez Ravine, obviously :).

While I did visit the Dodger Stadium for an LA-Philly game last June, last week I had a privilege of visiting the Fenway Park in Boston, MA. The stadium is being overhauled for the new season, so the guided tour meandered through the construction site, in between the steel, wood and nails, so to say.

Please enjoy some of the photos I have taken:


Above: my first-ever glimpse at Fenway from the outside (just left off the Shell gas station) at the corner of Boylston (sp?) street and some other lane.


Getting closer and closer :)


The entrance to the ticket box at Yawkey Way.


Above: the look outside of the the Red Sox commentators' booth. This is where Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy actually broadcast from.


The Red Sox will have a two-feet narrower warning track this year as they move the line of grass closer to the outfield walls.


The monster with the recently added left-field seats on top of it.


Tamara - our very knowledgeable tour guide.

Time for trivia question: any idea why there is one distinctively red seat among green ones in right field? (I know the answer thanks to Tamara ;)).


I guess one ends up with a crazy face like this when one tries to make a photo of himself with the stadium as a backdrop, rather than asking other polite people on the guided tour to shoot one for him :).

PS. Got some more of these pics, just did not want to bore you to death with NDC [non-Dodger content]. Let me know, if you're ready for a second helping.

Parting shot(s) with Andy LaRoche

Andy LaRoche will be back on the roster. With the Dodgers. Perhaps even later this year.

For the time being though, his defensive mistakes seem to have cost him a place on the opening day roster...

The power is there already:

"We think this guy's going to be a great hitter in the major leagues. When his time comes, there's no doubt in my mind he's going to crash right though that door." says Grady Little.

The defense - not quite:

"La Roche's defense remains a concern, as he has committed six errors in only 13 exhibition games. He made five in his entire time in Las Vegas, where team officials could very well send him after camp breaks to get more seasoning."

Not quite yet. It will come. Watch this space.

Let me make it official. With Franquelis Osoria gone from the Dodgers, Andy LaRoche takes over as the main event on the "TALRW": The Andy LaRoche Watch"!

Billingsley to the bullpen, Abreu - first positional callup?

There are some interesting development today regarding the initial roster positioning. Mind you, it's only 14 March.

Namely, we have learned that Chad Billingsley will start the season pitching out of the bullpen.
This is not as bad news to the young pitcher as it would seem to be. Remember, last season when he was almost as highly touted (but unproven), after a more than decent spring training, he still started the season in the minors. This time, he gets a chance to stick around in the form of No1 long-man (spot starter).

"I talked to Chad yesterday and let him know what we had in plan for him this year, and that's to work in the middle part of our bullpen," Los Angeles manager Grady Little said.

That means a number of things for the Dodgers. First, Mark Hendrickson's fate as situational lefty is practically sealed. The Dodgers simply do not have an efficient lefty pitching out of the bullpen as of now. Second, at this stage it might be advisable for GM Ned Coletti to look around to swap either Elmer Dessens (virtually replaced by Billingley in the longman role) and/or Joe Mays (very decent this spring) for a harder-throwing lefty reliever. Think Alan Embree 5-6 years ago. Not now, Ned! :)

Thirdly, Hong-Chi Kuo will most probably start in the minors to get his control issues out of the way and fight to regain his chance at becoming an efficient starter for the Dodgers during the season. Eric Stultz will join him in the Las Vegas 51's rotation. Hence the incumbent No.5 starting role will go to Brett "Bobmko" Tomko. But both Kuo and either of the Dessens/Mays pair will be watching his performance very closely.

In short (as of today):

Rotation: Schmidt, Lowe, Wolf, Penny, Tomko
Relief: Billingsley, Hendrickson, Mays/Dessens/new lefty, Beimel, Broxton, Saito
Released/traded: Mays/Dessens
Minors: Kuo, Stults, Tsao, Hamulack, Brazoban (when back from IR) + plus the prospects

Now, on a totally different (non-pitching note): the play of 2B Tony Abreu is making heads turn. Heir apparent to Jeff Kent? Perhaps even later this season? More to come.

Hats off to Fenway Park!

Yesterday, I had a privilege to attend a 1-hour guided tour at Fenway Park in Boston! Those who know me will be aware of the fact that the Red Sox are my second most favorite team, so that was ALMOST as big for me as my visit to a Dodgers-Philly game last June at Chavez Ravine.

I had a great time walking around Fenway, which is currently well under construction in terms of the outfield grass line being moved closer to the Wall/walls/stands (the warning track will be 2-3 feet narrower). They are also refurbishing press rooms to accomodate the influx of the Japanese media (we were allowed to enter the Remy broadcast booth) and totally moving the opposing batting practise area. It used to be in a shabby and secluded place in the rough viscinity of center field. They are moving it now to the location where the opposing batters would actually be seen from the inside of the "Game On" restaurant (with a one-way see-through window between the batting area and the restaurant sitting area. That seems like a great idea from the fans' standpoint!). In general the place looked as if it was January 11, not March 11, but we were told the crews are working 24/7 and should get everyting in order in time for the season opener.

Anyway, I took a lot of pictures and will probably put them up here when I'm back. I bought my black coffee mug and an MLB baseball. Just wanted to share my joy with you as I know you will be happy for me :).

PS. Now, the prices of parking around Fenway - that's another story (we've been discussing that on one of the Dodger yahoo groups lately). As far as I have learned it's 30 USD per car on an official Red Sox parking lot (though the club encourages the use of "green T" subway that takes you right next to the ballpark). There are privately operated parking lots everywhere around the stadium, which have the following price structure: "weekdays - 10 USD, weekends - 20 USD, Fenway events [look out!] - 35 USD".

If I was a Bostonian and followed the Red Sox AND had lots of money to spare, I would have bought a condo in the apartment building just the opposite of Boylston Str. (where Yawkey Way merges into Jersey Str.). They are well within walking distance and you save 81 x 35 USD per season, which makes it up to 2835 USD per year ;). Just enough to buy 7 (seven) right field pavilion packages with a table for four and 25-dollar per capita worth of food :).

How about Joe Mays?

One pitcher that gets a bit overlooked this spring in the starters-relievers dilemma is former Twin starter RHP Joe Mays. He's 32 yo now and has been quite dependable this spring.

In fact, he's just gone 3 IP of one-hit no-run ball in the game against the Orioles that the Dodgers won 4-2. He got seven ground out and struck out the other two batters. He's pre-season ERA is 2.57 as of today.

How do you think the pitching situation will play out for him? Can he make the opening day roster?

James Loney's crystall ball future

This crystal ball feature is thanks to Dem Bums Dodgers blog, a great find! Please check out the comments section as well for some insight.

About the only thing I do not agree with is the second part of Loney's career... with the Astros? We should be able to keep guys like James, shouldn't we? :)

Same time last year

Last September Jae Seo got the a one-year contract extension from the Devil Rays after he went 3-12 with 5.33 ERA in 36 games (26 starting) for them and the Dodgers last season.

Last year about this time (spring training) I remember feeling pretty secure having Seo become our fifth starter. That feeling went south pretty quickly, I agree :). To me he always seemed to miss a pitch or
two which used to turn around and bite him in the back for a big inning (especially in his Dodger days). Also a "slow warm-up syndrome" never helped him in the first innings. 

He's currently listed on the TB depth chart as their fourth starter. At 30 years old - do you think he'll finally manage to establish himself as middle-of-the-rotation pitcher?

As for Dioner Navarro, I remember having second thoughts about him playing in front of Alomar last spring training (that was BEFORE the emergence of Russell Martin, folks :)). Dioner is only 23 yo and due to a particularly difficult year last year in terms of family incidents (car accident, serious illness of one of his children), he only managed to hit .254 with 6 HR and 28 RBIs. He's currently out for a couple of days with a hamstring strain.

Do you think letting him go by the Dodgers was a little bit premature? (we got pending FA Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson in the deal)  While he might have lost the battle for the lineup spot to Martin over last season, he's still got more upside than Mike Lieberthal and Kelly Stinnett (let alone Sandy Alomar and Hall) and I'm not sure how much confidence the organization has in Edwin Bellorin (currently with the 51's). Is there another young catcher in the Dodger system to turn into a big league backup for Martin in say two years?

LaRoche tried out at LF

Dodgers MLB website has a good article about Andy LaRoche being tried out in LF.

So far he's played there one game (IIRC) and handled his fielding chances adequately.

"When you put a player in a new position they seem to hit balls at them right away," said manager Grady Little. "I don't know if it's coincidence or the baseball gods. Sure enough, they hit a couple but he [La Roche] handled them well."
Do you think it makes sense for the Dodgers to experiment with LaRoche out of his natural position at 3B? Especially that he's not such a good fielder (by default) as Loney (great with the glove at 1B and more than capable in limited tries at RF). And especially that both Gonzalez and Ethier (if not playing RF) are clearly ahead of LaRoche on the OF depth chart. Plus there are both Bigbie and Anderson as spare corner outfielders.

Do you really think Andy can't be a "proper" backup 3B for Betemit on the active roster come April 1? There is still plenty of time for him to beat Betemit to the starter's job, mind you. Why mess up putting him at LF?

The Poise of LaRoche

Andy LaRoche, that is. See how team-oriented he is? Check out this little tibdit, pointed out to me at Dodger Thoughts:

"

But La Roche's finest moment came in the ninth inning. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 with runners on second and third with none out after a double by Fernando Tatis. For a young player pining to make a season-opening roster, this would have been the perfect situation to try to impress, to swing hard at everything in hopes of getting the big hit that would turn that one-run deficit into a one-run lead.

But instead of getting overeager and chasing pitches out of his zone, La Roche patiently worked Adkins for a walk to load the bases, and ultimately he came around to score what would have been an important run if this were an important game. And that is the sort of thing general managers and managers tend to notice."

How can you leave this kid out of the active roster April 1 ;). Agreed, he only went 1-for-5 at DH yesterday against the Minnesota Twins, but there are so many things that he already does the right way, I'm tempted to take even a closer look at the "race for third base" between him and Wilson Betemit.

Saito's watching too much TV

In a December interview with Grady Little made during the winter meetings (I just happened to stumble into it via Red Sox usenet group), an otherwise lackadaisical (sp?) Grady Little has this to say about our closer:

Q.  You had a new contract with [Takashi] Saito and are you happy to have him back to the Dodgers? 

GRADY LITTLE:  I would say so.  You know, he got an opportunity last year to come in.  He joined our club I think in May and I don't know the exact numbers but I do know the exact number of saves that he had -- he blew a save and that was one out of all of his opportunities.  He has good control.  He has good stuff and we're 
certainly glad he's back.

But I still haven't been able to figure out why I see the catcher go to the mound or my pitching coach go to the mound or I go to the mound and he puts his glove over his mouth so no one can read his lips.  I haven't really figured out why he does that yet.  *I think he's been watching too much TV*.  
Knowing how restrained (I previously used the wrong word "conceited" which Robert pointed out to me in the comments section) Grady can be (and is in many respects in this interview) I find this comment absolutely hilarious. I vaguely remember Saito having trouble speaking English last season - has he 
picked up any in the process so that he's protecting himself from being overheard? ;)

JD Drew rational for opting out

Well, for starters, we did hold JD Drew hitless (0-for-2 with a walk and strikeout) in his first (unofficial) game against the Dodgers, which is always a good thing for team confidence. By the way, Drew's replacement, RF Moss scored the only Red Sox run yesterday.

Anyway, speaking of JD, there is a very interesting article on the top scroll at mlb.com, which sheds some light on Drew and Boras' reasons for invoking the infamous opt-out clause. One of the cited reasons is Boras making Drew aware of the fact that with a young family they ought to have had more job security. 
Apparently, the was no no-trade clause in the Dodgers contract with Drew. Says JD:

"You know, the thing with me is that we were looking for some job security, and I know where the Dodgers are heading and I didn't want to become trade bait at some point down the road. Those were the  things that were very important to me, and it just didn't seem like they wanted to pursue any of those avenues, so they moved on and I kind of had to do the same thing." 
In effect Boras made Drew accept a limited no-trade from the Sox - limited to... two teams?? Having said that:

"Sources with knowledge of his Dodgers contract said Monday there was language in that deal allowing him to block trades to five teams, ostensibly giving him more job security with the Dodgers than in his current deal."

My question: why beat about the bush with lingo on peripheral aspects of contract when everybody and their mother knows it was mostly a guaranteed money-based decision? Drew then turns around and blames Colletti for being pissed with the last-second opt-out decision.

In general I was thinking that JD going public about his leaving the Dodgers in the off-season would make me understand the rationale of his (their, with Boras) decision. Having read this piece (very informative, no doubt) - I'm puzzled all the more.

And you?

Sweet top of the ninth (Dodgers - Mets 5:2)

I just finished stat watching at mlb.com (my mlb.tv season package will get activated later on in March).

What a great game it must have been: no score through five and a half, than very close (2-1 Mets) until the top of the ninth when the Dodgers exploded for four unanswered runs.

Larry Bigbie has certainly been making a case for himself this spring so far: two more RBI (seven in three games) with no strike-outs. My favourite young Dodger, Andy LaRoche was not far behind him as he went 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored! As sound defensively as he is touted to be I was surprised he has not shaken off pre-season rust yet with two fielding errors (which did not lead to runs scored).

Very solid outing from our pitching, despite the number of walks they issued (8 in the game), they managed to get most (all?) of them back by stranding 12 Met runners on base. Mets were sporting their above average lineup with Reyes, Delgado, Green, LoDuca, Beltran and Wright.

The Dodgers are 2-1 on the pre-season and Andy LaRoche is batting .429. Life could not be sweeter in cloudy and rainy Poland :).

First farewell article to Dodgertown

I know it's early, as the Dodgers will only leave Dodgertown two spring trainings from now, but the dramatic piece by Peter Kerasotis rings so true:

"Oh, sure, they'll try to mimic that field of daydreams known as Holman Stadium. Whatever the Dodgers do, though, is already doomed to be a bad imitation. A VHS tape compared to a high-definition DVD. A ventriloquist whose mouth moves."

There will never be another Dodgertown. Not in Glendale, AZ where the Dodgers are moving. Not anywhere.