Given our change in ownership, there is a definitive change to the way that the Dodgers approach the way they conduct baseball operations. During the reign of He Who Will Not be Named (HWNN henceforth), the Dodgers were content to sign players based upon a flawed criteria. The aforementioned allowed scouting and player development to fall by the wayside in favor of houses and haircuts. However, new management appears to see the value in such ventures (and their eventual benefit). This is good. This is what made the Dodgers winners in the past. I will not delve too far into our recent screw ups. However, it is worth noting where we have deviated from our proven winning track. The Dodgers were preeminent contenders when we followed a simple formula. We grew from within and added key pieces in free agency and occasionally at the deadline. The Fox ownership showed minimal success because they were not all that interested in the Dodgers themselves. They allowed GMs to buy into Free Agency whenever necessary despite the cost to the Dodgers themselves. HWNN changed this course. He allowed his GM to look for bargain basement players and clung to the hope that the previous decade’s draft would compliment those players. Ironically, it worked. The drafting of the previous GM yielded a plethora of players who could play at the MLB level. These players were able to keep us in contention. However, when coupled with ridiculous signings and a penny-pinching atmosphere, the Dodgers were simply an incomplete team. Unlike previous ownerships, this regime seems to be walking into Chavez Ravine with an actual plan. Gone are the days of “whatever sticks”. With this in mind, I have begun looking at where we currently are and where we could be if certain moves are made. Please note, I am human. Believe it or not, I was in favor of the Andruw Jones signing. I truly could not see how a player of his caliber could fall that hard, that fast. With that in mind, these are the moves that I see as helpful for the Dodgers both now and in the future. Attached is the 40-man roster. This is the clear guideline for any moves made. 1. Say goodbye to James Loney. I am not sure what happened. He is a defensive whiz who can actually hit. Unfortuantely, he does not do so. While he is a great hitter when hot, his slumps are horrid. He is a hole in the lineup on bad days and a line drive hitter on good ones. Given our lack of power, it is time to let him go. I like James. But, right now, he is doing more harm than good. 2. Replace Loney with Ethier. Yes, I know this will not popular but it works. Ethier at 1st would solve a number of problems. We would have a 1st baseman who has power and average and is decent defensively. We are no longer looking for a guy to fill the hole that will cost too much and is injury prone. He has a 1st baseman’s glove, let him use it. Spell him with Van Slyke. 3. Sign Carlos Quentin to a three year deal. He is hurt right now but his numbers are undeniable. He is still young. He has power and avg. He will not cost a ton. 4. Make a decision on Dee Gordon. If he is our SS, he should be our SS. He will be hole until he figures it out or not. If he is a hole, we need to decide what we are willing to give up to keep him. Right now, his glove is decent at best. He makes great plays and has tons of errors. He cannot get on base. 5. I hate to even suggest because we do not have the best track record when it comes to picking up guys in career years but Edwin Encarnacion would fit with the young player thing. He could man 3rd but his defense is suspect. Otherwise, I think we need to trade for a 3rd baseman. We must fill this hole. 6. Next year, we need to give Young Alex a look at 2nd. He is proving to be a hitter these last two years and hopefully that can translate over to something of value for us. We have another year with Ellis and I have to think that he could turn Young Alex into a good 2nd baseman who knows how to be a team player. 7. Trade some of our young pitching. We have a plethora. We need to use the capital we have to acquire mlb ready hitters. Sands could also be trade bait at this point. I am afraid that he will never be the Sandman that we all hoped he would be. 8. Sign Cole Hamels. This one is simple. He is another ace. Kershaw is a great pitcher with Ace ability but he looks off this year. If he regresses to number 2 form, Hamels could be the ace we may be looking for. 9. Trade Uribe for another bad contract. His time is up. He will never be accepted and he knows it. He is a hole in the lineup and I do NOT trust him with runners on. 10. Part ways with those in the BP who are not completely trusted. We know who they are. If you cannot trust a guy, you cannot allow him to pitch. It is that simple. Do whatever it takes to create a bullpen that you trust ever day.
I'm okay with saying goodbye to Loney but what I dont like is moving Ethier to 1st and signing Quentin Quentin hasn't played over 131 games ever and his only great year was 08. Other than that he really hasn't done much or would be that much of an upgrade. I wouldn't pay him much money over a long period of time. An incentive laden contract maybe, but the base salary would have to be low. At the end, I'd probably just say no. Edwin Encarnacion is nearly 30 and is having a good 1/3 of a season. Basically the only time hes really done anything in his career. So I'd pass Hamels I like! after this year Uribe has only one more year. Trade him for shitty specs or just cut him and take the loss.
Ned was saying a couple of days ago he was still looking for a bat and an arm. God knows what he has in mind - but a trade could be near. I keep hoping to see something in the paper every morning. I like idea of trading/dumping Loney and clearing out 1B. Also trading contracts on Uribe and clearing out 3B. We need power in the corners, of course. I don't think Ethier would want to move to 1B. I've always kept this article in mind about that issue: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/n...d=13094922&vkey=notebook_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
Quentin does not suck. Look at his numbers. There is nothing out there. Hamilton will be resigned. The only other hitter available is swisher and he will be 32.
He's an albatross defensively, about the worst in the game, and he has deteriorating contact skills. Also his power was aided by playing in US Cellular, and wouldn't translate. I'd rather have a fringe starter like Cody Ross than Quentin at this point.
We have gone with fringe starters for the better part of a few years now. This year aside, how has that turned out for us? We need someone who is young with power who can compliment Kemp and Ethier. I have no issue with going with Abreu/Rivera/Gwynn BUT there is NOTHING out there for infield power. I do not believe that the Mets trade Wright. Hell, the latest rumors say that Gordon could be had from the Royals but would cost a front of the rotation pitcher....wtf. I have two issues with Hamilton. One is his contract. It will be fucking insane and will be at least 6 years in length. That would put him at 38 at least. The second is I do think Texas will pony up. He is the only game in town.
I think we're thinking of two different players. Are you referring to the 30 year old Quentin who hits .240 every season?
The same. Actually, it is .250ish but he has a career OBP of .346 and a career OPS of .836. Who else has those numbers in this FA class?
Not disagreeing with that, either. Lol. He's off to a nice start back from his hiatus, made some nice plays and got on base plenty today. IMO, with his speed, all he should be focusing on is getting on base BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
