|
1. Furcal SS
2. Ethier LF
3. Kemp RF
4. Kent 2B
5. Jones CF
6. Martin C
7. Loney 1B
8. DeWitt 3B
9. Penny P
Forget DeWitt, because he’s obviously an emergency fill in. 1-7, is that not one of the most imposing Dodger lineups you’ve ever seen? Another long, cold winter is over, friends. The road to the World Series starts today.
- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness 
Excuse me while I go party my ASS off, right now! YAHOO!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwEMxYggoKQ]
- Vin 
| Candidate | Andre Ethier | Juan Pierre |
|---|---|---|
|
Age |
26 (on April 10) |
31 (on Aug 14) |
|
Spring BA |
.361 |
.173 |
|
Spring OPS |
1.130 |
.432 |
|
Career OPS |
.821 |
.722 |
|
Notable OF Assists |
2 on Thursday @ Angels |
4 in 162 2007 games |
|
Tony Jackson says? |
3/27: “I was wrong” (to back Pierre) 43 times. |
3/5: “But I still believe the Dodgers are better with him (Pierre) in the lineup.” |
|
Rotoworld? |
3/25: Ethier has done everything he possible can to wrest left field away from Juan Pierre. He’s batting .359/.481/.672 with just three strikeouts in 64 at-bats. We already know he’s a better hitter than Pierre, and he’s an above average defender in left. |
3/29: Juan Pierre was dropped to the eighth spot in the order Friday and went 0-for-3 against the Red Sox. |
|
Baseball Prospectus’ 2008 Predictions: |
.285/.353/.451 |
.289/.332/.356 |
|
Hear them speak! |
3/25: “I was told to come into spring training and show what I’ve got. And I did what I was asked. It’s management’s choice who they’re going to put out there.” |
3/24: “I’m not talking.” |
Looks clear to me! Storm the polls and let your voice be heard! Vote Andre in ’08.
Also, LA Taco was kind enough to ask me to write them a season preview for the Blue – check it out.
- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness
Since I last discussed the increasingly bizarre infield situation, things had seemed to clear up a little bit. Tony Abreu, who’s been playing more and looking good this week, would start at 3B, and Chin-Lung Hu would fill in at 2B for a few days until Jeff Kent was ready. Not the optimal situation, but these guys would be starters on plenty of teams, so to have them be our last resorts isn’t the end of the world.
All is well. What?
Tony Jackson, fill us in:
Tony Abreu to begin the season on the DL
He felt something in his right groin after one of his at-bats against the Brewers on Tuesday. The move can be backdated to Wednesday, which means he won’t be eligible to play until April 11 against the Padres. Not sure what it means for third base except that Blake DeWitt now might actually, truly be a candidate for the opening-day roster. That would mean a whole lot of other things, too, mostly that his calendar would be moved up a year so that he would run out of options a year earlier, would become eligible for arbitration a year earlier, etc., because as of right now, he doesn’t even have to be added to the 40-man roster until next winter. If he is added to the opening-day roster, all of that changes. If you assume Rudy Seanez was released to make room on the 40-man for Chan Ho Park, then this probably means another spot will have to be cleared to make room for DeWitt.
Ugh. This is simply unbelievable – who loses the top three on their depth chart in one position in one spring training? How many times can I keep making Spinal Tap drummer jokes? Now paging Esteban German… but not Inge, Crede, Giles, or Helms.
- Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness
From today’s L.A. Times regarding Ethier vs. Pierre:
But Ethier, 25, has more power, a better arm and will drive in more runs, tools that would make him more valuable off the bench.
Your new additions to the Dodgers’ 2008 bench who also fit this criteria:
Russell Martin, Jeff Kent, Matt Kemp, Andruw Jones, and James Loney.
It’s kind of like saying in the early 1960′s: “Koufax: strikes out a ton of hitters, has thrown no-hitters, wins 20+ games a year… tools that would make him more valuable in mop-up duty.”
Very boneheady, Kevin.
- Vin
