Hooray For Recessions!
March 30, 2009 at 4:54 pm | Posted in Will Ohman | 8 CommentsJust in, the Dodgers have signed reliever Will Ohman, which is something we’ve been hoping for for months around here. But that’s not the eye-catching part here, because look at this detail from the official release:
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they have signed left-handed pitcher Will Ohman to a one-year minor league contract with Major League terms, including a club option for 2010.
A minor-league deal?! With a club option?! Holy hell, that price drop might even be more shocking than Orlando Hudson’s. Man, did Ohman’s agent screw this up or what? And yes, I was thinking that even before I read this quote from an anonymous AL talent evaluator in Buster Olney’s blog today:
“No. 2: What precisely was Will Ohman‘s agent thinking? He has said for a month that he had $1 million-plus on the table and just wanted performance bonuses to get to $2.50 million. Now, it is a week before Opening Day and the word out from his tryout for the Dodgers is that he isn’t close to ready to go. He should have just given up the ghost for ’09 and signed two weeks ago like Beimel.
Can’t argue that – this is simply a brutal downturn for Ohman. But hey, his loss is our gain, because adding a solid veteran arm to a bullpen that sorely needed is a huge win.
On another note, anyone over at Rotoworld want to wake up and pay attention?
Eric Milton… or Eric Stults… or…
It’s Official: Dodgers Finally Sign Will Ohman
March 30, 2009 at 4:41 pm | Posted in Will Ohman | 3 CommentsWell, we have breaking news folks… 
Vin has posted an article!
The blog has not been hacked, I assure you, and somewhere MSTI’s jaw is on the floor. I understand. But, you see, the reason it took me so long was because me and my agent, let’s call him Scott, have been negotiating with MSTI earnestly during the offseason. What can I say? I felt that after the move to MVN, I deserved a multiyear deal for all the work on WordPress and it caused me and MSTI to negotiate for quite a long time until we finally just started from scratch. But it got done and, well: I’m baaccck.
But the real reason of this article…
According to Dodgers.com, the Dodgers have finally signed Will Ohman! It took until a week before the season started, but we finally found our situational lefty out of the pen. Our LOOGY. Or Troy From West Virginia’s new best friend. The financial details are still undisclosed at this point, except that it is a minor league deal with an option for another year.
Now given that MSTI has talked about Ohman quite often this past week, there’s no need to go into depth here, as mostly everything has been said, other than it was a much needed signing for the Dodgers that does fulfill a need in the bullpen given the loss of Beimel, it also adds depth, and spares us from the likes of Brian Mazone and Erick Threets. Always a good thing.
- Vin 
It’s About Time!
March 29, 2009 at 5:29 pm | Posted in Brian Mazone, Erick Threets, Will Ohman | 5 CommentsI originally wanted to see Will Ohman in Dodger blue as far back as last October, and as his price continued to drop while the Dodgers trotted out minor league jobbers like Brian Mazone and Erick Threets, the fit only seemed more obvious: hey, maybe a contending team who badly needs a lefty specialist should bring in the lefty specialist who’s already said he wants to be on the west coast! I still can’t quite comprehend why it took so long, but common sense has finally arrived:
The Dodgers need relief pitchers, and reliever Will Ohman needs a job. Those two needs intersected on Sunday morning, when the Dodgers gave the free-agent left-hander a tryout.
Ohman, accompanied at Camelback Ranch-Glendale by his agent, went through a two-inning simulated game against Minor League hitters in front of manager Joe Torre and most of the Dodgers’ front office.
Great! Perfect! In case you’re not familiar with Ohman, he’s exactly what the team needs right now, and not even just because of (complete lack of) competition for the position otherwise. The 31-year-old Pepperdine alum made his debut with the Cubs in 2000, getting into 17 games in his first two years, before blowing out his arm and missing 2002 and 2003. Since making it back to the bigs in 2005, he’s been one of the most reliable lefty relievers over the last four seasons, making at least 56 appearances each year with quality results (ERA+ scores of 151, 112, 94, and 116). Even better, unlike Joe Beimel, Ohman’s been killer on fellow southpaws, holding them to just a .571 OPS in 2008.
That’d be a pretty valuable addition to any team, but in comparison to Mazone (32 and yet to appear in a MLB game) and Threets (6.75 spring ERA after allowing a run and two hits in 1/3 of an inning today) Ohman’s basically looking like Sandy Koufax right now – especially when you consider that Hong-Chih Kuo is almost guaranteed to miss some time this year due to injury. (That said, until Kuo does go down, how tasty is a Kuo/Ohman lefty duo? Niiiice.)
So what’s stopping the Dodgers from signing him now-ish? Well, Joe Torre, for one:
Free agent left-hander Will Ohman said he would be ready for opening day, but Manager Joe Torre wasn’t so sure.
Of Ohman’s command when he pitched to minor leaguers in front of the Dodgers’ brain trust, Torre said, “You can see he hasn’t been pitched in games.”
From the MLB.com story, Torre also mentioned:
“But there’s a certain element of sharpness you’d like to have. Where we are, how many times can he pitch [in a game]? We saw today the quality of his stuff. You can see he hasn’t been pitching in a game as far as command. Not that he’s been pinpoint [in his career].”
Well, yeah. I don’t doubt he’s rusty. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s missed almost all of spring training. But doesn’t he have enough of a track record of success to think that it’ll just take him some extra time to get going? I mean, what would you prefer to have out there in the pen? A proven reliever who might need a week or two more to get up to speed, or, well, Brian Mazone and Erick Threets?
Will Ohman. Dodger blue. Let’s make this happen.
Someone Buy Delwyn Young a Copy of “Caddyshack”
March 28, 2009 at 8:21 am | Posted in Delwyn Young, Doug Mientkiewicz, Shawn Estes | 1 CommentAnd not because it’s one of the best movies of all time. Okay, not just because it’s one of the best movies of all time, but because it contains a valuable lesson within – besides the proper recipe for a “Cannonball”.
Look, I’m not blind to the obvious. Despite my pleas to not expose Delwyn Young to waivers on more than one occasion, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the Dodgers are going to keep just four outfielders, and give the last spot on the bench to Doug “Eyechart” Mientkiewicz, who along with Casey Blake would apparently serve as 5th and 6th outfielders. I don’t particularly have a problem with Eyechart per se; he’s an excellent defensive 1B and a decent hitter – he’s not without his uses. I just happen to think that he’s a poor fit on a club that already has a lefty-swinging 1B with a good glove in James Loney, but apparently the club doesn’t agree. Either way, while I still disagree, any question about whether Eyechart was making the club had to have been answered with this quote in the LA Daily News:
Mientkiewicz is hitting .300 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 18 spring games. He can play both left and right field, first base and to some extent third base. He also proved himself as a left-handed pinch-hitter with Pittsburgh last season. But Torre said the real intangible is his clubhouse presence.
“Having a little history with him and knowing what he does not only on the field but in the clubhouse, it’s certainly appealing,” said Torre, who managed Mientkiewicz with the New York Yankees in 2007 and against him when Mientkiewicz was a member of the Boston Red Sox in 2004.
Uh oh, he’s not only a Torre guy, but we’ve now entered “intangibles” and “clubhouse presence” territory – fantastic! Isn’t that how we ended up with Tanyon Sturtze? I suppose that means welcome to the team, Dougie.
Anyway, back to Delwyn Young, who – as you must know by now – we’d hate to see cut, mostly because of his solid track record of hitting in the minors, and partially because you always want to see a guy who grew up a Dodger fan make the team. There’s no doubt he’d get claimed if he were exposed to waivers, so if he doesn’t make the team (and if they keep only 4 OF, he won’t – thanks, Juan!) there’s only one way to keep him around, and that’s to place him on the disabled list. Progress has already been made in that respect, as he already went in for an MRI on his surgically repaired elbow last week, and is scheduled to see a specialist today (from the same story above).
All of which brings us back to “Caddyshack”. I don’t doubt the severity of Young’s injury – after all, he did have surgery on it – but if you want to keep Delwyn in Dodger blue, you best hope that his elbow lands him on the DL, because if he’s not there, he’s in another uniform. That will at least buy a few weeks and perhaps a minor league rehab stint, and who knows what can happen in that time? Another player could get hurt, or the gods could smile upon us and Juan Pierre could get moved. Well, that’s not likely, but a man can dream, can’t he?
So let’s take a lesson from the great scene in ”Caddyshack” (awful quality, poorly edited clip on YouTube here) where Rodney Dangerfield’s Al Czervik, badly losing in a high stakes golf match, richochets a shot off his own arm, and sensing an opportunity, claims that it’s broken so that he can be replaced with the superior golfing of the caddy, Danny Noonan. Delwyn, this could be you! Someone call Dr. Beeper! Remember, your elbow hurts! You must be on the DL.
On another topic, hey Shawn Estes – you must have been something before electricity. But apparently he’s trying to make fourteen dollars the hard way, now that he’s gone back to minor league camp to become a left-handed reliever, and Beyond the Boxscore takes a look at whether he’s got the chops to make it happen. Be warned, you will probably need to be the offspring of both a brain surgeon and a rocket scientist to wade through the numbers they put up, but here’s the upshot:
So, Estes as a LOOGY. I’m not so sure. He’s not someone you want to bring in with the bases jacked, that’s for sure. Maybe long relief, but a situational specialist sounds like a stretch.
I’m pretty sure that we didn’t need advanced statistical review to know that Shawn Estes isn’t very good, but I like knowing that we have facts to back it up.
Congratulations, James McDonald
March 26, 2009 at 6:02 pm | Posted in James McDonald | 3 CommentsTags: Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
I know there’s still nearly two more weeks until Opening Day, and anything can happen. But I don’t care - I don’t mind being the one to put the supermegajinx out there and call this competition over, with a triple knockout in the 8th round.
Ladies and gentlemen, your new fifth starter: James McDonald.
What makes me so confident? Today’s triple whammy, baby!
We just got word that pitcher Claudio Vargas is experiencing some elbow discomfort. Not clear yet how serious it is, but it sounded kind of minor.
Let’s see, bum arm + terrible outing yesterday + 8.22 spring ERA = you’re done.
Starter James McDonald pitched three scoreless innings, with two hits, three strikeouts and two walks to become the frontrunner for the fifth spot.
That’s another good outing for McDonald, and just in case you thought he still had competition…
Eric Milton’s audition for the fifth starter’s role didn’t go nearly as well as James McDonald’s. Milton was roughed up for six earned runs in 2 2/3rds innings pitched Thursday against the Rockies. Five of the seven hits he allowed were extra base hits, though it should be noted that two of the hits seemed to be affected by the wind. Either way it wasn’t a great outing.
I’d say “yet another nail in the coffin” for Milton, but isn’t he entirely made of nails by this point? He had a golden opportunity to take this job, and completely blew it.
Say it with me now, friends: the youngest, most talented member of this competition actually won despite being opposed by plenty of “savvy vets”. Doesn’t that just sound nice?
Let’s Thin Out that Herd
March 25, 2009 at 4:42 pm | Posted in Brian Mazone, Claudio Vargas, Eric Stults, Erick Threets, James McDonald | 5 CommentsTags: Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
Well, today’s game against Milwaukee ought to help send some of those 5th starter wannabes to the glue factory:
Eric Stults: 2.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 HR (spring ERA: 12.96)
Claudio Vargas: 1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 HR (spring ERA: 8.22)
Just like most of their pitches today, any chance of these two winning this competition has to be going… going… gone.
With Shawn Estes already a washout, Eric Milton not far behind, and Jason Schmidt already counted out, that has to mean James McDonald wins this by default, right? Imagine that – we really could see a Dodger rotation that’s three-fifths twenty-five-and-under. It’s not exactly the way we all wanted to see it, but man, is that thought tasty.
Not that things went any better for the guys still competing for the 2nd lefty reliever spot, as Brian Mazone and Erick Threets each gave up a homer. Are we really going to sit by and watch the Giants go get Will Ohman? It’s not like his skill set perfectly fits what this team needs, or anything.
On another note, what is with all of the injuries? You’ve got Chad Billingsley, Blake DeWitt, and Mark Loretta all pulling muscles in the same game. You’ve got Clayton Kershaw taking a liner off the hip, Jason Repko pulling a hamstring – in addition to Manny’s previous hamstring problem – and now you’ve got Delwyn Young going for an MRI on his surgically-repaired elbow. Granted, none are that serious, but still, not a good omen.
The season simply cannot start soon enough.
That Other Pitching Battle
March 23, 2009 at 5:27 pm | Posted in Brian Mazone, Erick Threets, Hong-Chih Kuo, Shawn Estes, Will Ohman | 9 CommentsWhile trying to ignore the mounting evidence that a Delywn Young-sized mistake is about to be made, let’s not forget to focus on another roster battle that’s coming down to the wire, and for once I don’t mean #5 starter – #2 lefty reliever. You thought the fight for that last starter role featured some awesome names? At least you’d heard of Eric Milton, Shawn Estes, and Claudio Vargas, even if you shuddered at the mention of their names. These are guys even I’d barely ever heard of before this spring. With “notable” lefty contenders Carmen Cali, Stephen Randolph, Brent Leach, and Victor Garate already shipped off to minor league camp, here’s what we’re looking at…
Brian Mazone: a 32-year-old who’s yet to make his Major League debut? Oh yeah, off to a great start here. He went undrafted in 1998 and made it into 20 games for Atlanta’s A-ball team that year, before spending five of the next six seasons in independent ball, with the 6th lost to arm surgery. He finally made it back to organized ball in 2003 and has been bouncing around the minors (mostly as a starter) ever since, going 9-12 with a 4.10 ERA for Philadelphia’s AAA team last year. That was actually his worst season of the last few years, but I’m not exactly sure if that’s a good thing or not.
Mazone’s actually been very good so far this spring, allowing no runs and just 2 hits in 6.1 innings. You’d think that in a competition which is so lousy that, well, Brian Mazone can still be a top contender for the crown, a line like that would get you a good chance. Except that Tony Jackson disagrees:
Mazone pitched the eighth inning and stranded a runner on third. He now has pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, spread over eight appearances, this spring. He also is a left-hander. And the Dodgers NEED a left-handed reliever. But this guy probably will begin the season at abq.
I’m sure there’s a good reason for that, but damned if I know what it is. Moving on…
Erick Threets: Threets comes over from the dark side, having been in the Giants system since entering pro ball in 2001. He does actually have some MLB experience, though it was pretty monumentally bad: 16 hits and 12 walks allowed in 12.1 innings over the last two years. His minor league stats aren’t all that much better – he seems to be Greg Miller light in terms of Ks and BBs, because in 398.2 career IP he’s whiffed 370 (that’s good!) and walked 286 (that’s bad!). And yes, the frogurt is also cursed.
Threets hasn’t been as good as Mazone this spring, allowing 3 earned runs in 4.2 innings, though striking out 8 in that time is pretty nice. To be honest, while I like a guy with the stuff to miss bats, do we really want to be seeing this guy come in and walk half the league? Not what you want out of a guy who’s supposedly going to be your lefty specialist.
Shawn Estes: ugh, him again? That’s right, just a day after being told he had lost his shot at the 5th starter role and could choose between the minors or being released, he’s gone with door #3: reinvention as a lefty reliever.
Veteran starting pitcher Shawn Estes agreed to report to the Dodgers’ Minor League camp on Monday to attempt a transition to left-handed-relief specialist.
Estes, cut on Sunday with a choice of reporting to the Minor Leagues or receiving his release, said the compromise was raised in a meeting he had on Sunday with general manager Ned Colletti. The Dodgers have been unsuccessful in finding a second left-handed reliever to complement Hong-Chih Kuo.
Really? I mean, I don’t mind giving the guy a shot in minor league camp, but how many times have we been over this? He’s almost never been very good in the bigs, and he’s been downright awful this spring. He’s done. Cooked. Over. Finito. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. No matter whether or not the biggest competition are guys like Brian Mazone and Erick Threets.
So the solution is…
Just sign Will Ohman already! I was calling for this as far back as last October, when I included him as part of my 2009 plan:
Ohman’s a 31-year old lefty reliever and Pepperdine alum who’s made it into at least 56 games in each of the last four seasons with the Cubs and Braves, with ERA+ marks of 151, 112, 94, and 112. Plus, he’s absolutely murder on lefties (.571 OPS against in 2008), which makes him unlike Beimel (who’s actually harder on righties) and Kuo (who kills everyone, but isn’t really a situational kind of guy).
Joe Torre spent most of last year trying to turn Beimel into a situational lefty, which he never was, so why not just sign a guy who’s clearly good at it? Makes sense to me. Plus, the price is right, because according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark:
Last I heard, the last of the free-agent left-handers, Will Ohman, was looking for a one-year deal in the neighborhood of $1.75 million, with easily reachable incentives that could add close to another $1 million on top of that. Also hearing Ohman wants to stay on the West Coast. So with the Dodgers not interested in approaching that price, the Padres and Giants would seem to be the teams at the front of this line.
You know what? I’m usually not in favor of giving much money to relievers, but in this case it’s worth it. Not only is this a big need for the Dodgers (and not just because Mazone and Threets are the alternatives – what happens when, not if, when Kuo goes on the DL? You’ll still need those guys later.) After an off-season in which Ned Colletti clearly established he’s trying to win now, are we really going to let a measly $1 million or so stop us from getting the quality lefty reliever we so desperately need?
Free James McDonald! And, Save Delwyn Young!
March 22, 2009 at 7:38 pm | Posted in Delwyn Young, Doug Mientkiewicz, Eric Milton, James McDonald, Josh Lindblom, Juan Castro, Juan Pierre sucks, Shawn Estes | 13 CommentsSo! I go away for the weekend and…
* Shawn Estes gets cut. Finally! Of all of the old and busted veterans brought in to compete for the #5 role, he was by far the least effective, so the only surprise here is that it took this long. Oh, sure, there’s still the question of whether he chooses to go to Albuquerque or take his release, but does that really matter? I particularly like the way Ken Gurnick framed Estes’ delusions vs. reality in the dodgers.com story:
“It’s disappointing and a little shocking, to be honest. I still feel I’ve got a lot left in the tank, I’ve got the stuff to get big league hitters out and still feel I can be a starter.”
Estes pitched two scoreless innings Saturday, then couldn’t get out of a third inning, allowing a pair of runs. He has an 8.44 ERA in five Major League exhibition games, allowing 19 hits in 10 2/3 innings and a .380 opponents batting average.
Well, Shawn, you’re right. What could the club possibly have been thinking?
* James McDonald is the man! I’ve been hoping that McDonald would win this competition for some time (see: here and here) but I never really thought he’d have a prayer. But after blowing away Cleveland yesterday, facing the minimum nine batters over three innings, he’s squarely put himself in the mix – and if you believe Tony Jackson, McDonald’s actually in the lead. I’ve always felt the reason that they didn’t want McDonald winning the spot is that the team preferred to not have 3/5 of its starting rotation being under 25, though of course I would love that. Besides, as I mentioned previously, McDonald’s not that young – just a few months younger than Billingsley. He’s been the Dodger Minor League Pitcher of the Year in each of the last two seasons, and considering that the 5th starter spot comes up only four times in April, isn’t that the perfect time to get him going? Let’s go James!
* Eric Milton implodes! After Jason Schmidt was officially scratched from the competition because there’s not enough time to get his stamina up, I’d figured that Milton was the front-runner thanks to his mediocre spring. Yes, “mediocre” – that’s what qualified for winning this thing. Until…
Milton also allowed one earned run over three innings, but it looked a lot worse — as he actually allowed eight runs, though seven were unearned due to a pair of errors, one of them his. He gave up six hits, including one home run and two doubles. It was his second consecutive shaky outing, and the third such performance in his past four appearances.
“You know, in that inning, we didn’t play very well behind him,” Torre said. “But he got hit pretty hard.”
Well, thanks for playing Eric. We have some lovely parting gifts for you at the door.
* Josh Lindblom is awesome! Are we sensing a trend here? Something along the lines of “old, busted dudes need to step aside so that young, talented players can contribute”? Oh sure, I’m specifically just talking about McDonald & Lindblom vs. Estes & Milton right now, but how many times have we been over this through the years? Just the thought of “Luis Gonzalez vs. Andre Ethier” makes my blood run cold.
Anyway, Lindblom is the new “it” guy in camp, taking advantage of his surprise promotion to big league camp by putting down six of seven hitters in each of his two appearances. He’s only 21, with just 34 pro IP under his belt, and a year ago he was the closer at Purdue, so he’s not going to win the 5th starter competition – though his name is in the conversation. Honestly, he’s been a Dodger for such a short time and in such low levels that he’s one of those guys you just don’t know all that much about. Check out his prospect profile over at FNCN for more info, but know this: I’ll take a talented 21-year-old over a has-been/never-was 35-year-old eight days a week, and “veteran goodness” be damned. Talent > experience. Don’t believe me? Now paging the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, please step to the white courtesy phone.
* Juan Pierre toys with my emotions! Well, more accurately, Joe Cowley of the Chicago-Sun Times, who Twittered:
We’re hearing Juan Pierre could be South Side bound. Not the most reliable source, however.
First of all, can we all agree that Twitter sucks? It’s completely stupid, and the fact that some people are calling it a “Google killer” is absolutely mind-blowing. Second of all, is there a way to link to a specific post on it? If not, it makes blogging harder. (Well, that was quick. Amanda chimes in with the answer about 30 seconds after I posted this. Thanks!) Anyway, of course Cowley soon rescinded that statement, because who in their right mind would want to trade for Juan Pierre? I never expected it to be true, but even the thought of it got my heart racing.
If the White Sox were into it, I’d trade them the 1959 World Series as long as they took Pierre too.
* Hang on to Delwyn Young! I tried to start a “Save Delwyn Young!” campaign last week, and Delwyn’s plight appears to be in the public eye, because now Jon @ DodgerThoughts has picked up on both Tony Jackson and Ken Gurnick commenting on it:
Manny Ramirez will need regular backup in the outfield this season, either to protect a) him from injury or b) the Dodgers from late-inning fielding mishaps. Nevertheless, Tony Jackson of the Daily News and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com suggest the Dodgers might carry only four pure outfielders on opening day, because Doug Mientkiewicz and Casey Blake could also serve as backup outfielders.
That makes Jackson think out-of-options Delwyn Young might be a casualty as a result, even though Young continues to have a solid enough Spring Training that should have done nothing to dissuade the team that he could be of value as a pinch-hitter.
I can’t even comprehend how much of a mistake this would be. While I could go on and on about how the team should keep only eleven pitchers, that ship has long since sailed, so we’ll skip that. The team is going to have five bench players, three of whom are Brad Ausmus, Mark Loretta, and Pierre. That’s set in stone: got it. Plus one more infielder who can play shortstop, so that’s Blake DeWitt, Chin-Lung Hu, or Juan Castro. Which means your choice for that last man may come right down to these three contenders:
1) A switch-hitting 27-year-old who’s done nothing but tear up the minors. (Young)
2) A lefty-swinging 35-year-old first baseman who’s not without his uses, but is somewhat redundant on a team that already has a lefty-swinging first baseman – and don’t give me this “is a backup outfielder” business, because 13 career games over 11 seasons isn’t that convincing. (Eyechart)
3) A 37-year-old middle infielder, and it doesn’t really matter what handedness he is because he hits like he has no hands at all. His career offensive numbers are atrocious, and while I don’t mind the idea of a good defender at those spots, guys like that aren’t exactly difficult to come by. And no, I don’t care that he’s hitting .475 this spring. That doesn’t undo 14 seasons of a 56 OPS+. (Castro)
SAVE DELWYN YOUNG!
Something Big Will Happen This Weekend
March 19, 2009 at 9:39 am | Posted in Vero Beach | 8 CommentsEveryone seems to be enjoying the Dodgers’ new spring home at Camelback Ranch, in particular Tony Jackson, who now lives within walking distance of the park, and the various fans writing in to Dodger Thoughts to provide details of their trips. And why not? It’s a brand new facility, it’s much closer to LA, the weather is better in Arizona, and the teams are much closer together than in Florida, leading to plenty of bus-ride hours saved. There’s no downside, right?
Well, except for two.
First, the remnants of Vero Beach. Think this isn’t a big deal? This actually made the front page of CNN.com today.
But along with their history, the Dodgers took with them a fair amount of economic revenue that Indian River County and the city of Vero Beach sorely miss.
It’s an area synonymous with Dodgertown.
“We need everything we can to bring business back to our community,” Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard said.
“With baseball, you have an identity,” he said. Not to mention the $35 million or so that the Dodgers brought in to the beachside retirement community, which is already taking a hit from the economic downturn.
Granted, the Dodgers aren’t in the business of supporting the economies of towns 3,000 miles away, and the move to Arizona was clearly a good business decision. Still, that doesn’t make what seems to be happening in Vero any less sad.
Second, and clearly far more important, me. I was lucky enough to make it to Vero three times in the last four years, usually catching one home game and then one road game in Jupiter or Port St. Lucie, which were right up the road. I’d actually managed to turn it into a nice family vacation to escape the winter for a weekend. With the Dodgers gone, there’s no longer any reason to go to Vero, but we all still want to go to Florida, so instead we’re going to Orlando. Sure, I’ll catch a Braves game, and I love baseball no matter who’s involved, but that’s not really the Dodgers is it?
Anyway, all of this is a long way of saying, we’re taking a break until Monday. Play nice. And I wasn’t kidding when I said that something interesting would happen this weekend, because what’s happened the two other times I stepped away from the blog for a few days?
Well, last June, the Dodgers go no-hit – and won, plus “lost” Juan Pierre to injury. Then in July, I left to go on tour, and what did we have when I returned? A left fielder you may have heard of. So what’s going to happen this weekend? Pedro’s the easy guess, isn’t it? Maybe we’ll just sign Hideo Nomo to be the 5th starter. Hey: anything’s possible.
Edited to add… well, I couldn’t not post this picture.
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Busted Hurlers Yearning to Breathe Free
March 17, 2009 at 3:51 pm | Posted in Mac Suzuki | 11 Comments
We chuckled at Shawn Estes. We laughed at Eric Milton. We were entertained by Jeff Weaver. We were slightly leery of Pedro Martinez. Oh, sure, non-roster invites all (and in Pedro’s case, not even an offer yet), and it’s all well and good to see what sticks to the wall with no strings attached. But now? This? If this is where we are…
Remember Mac Suzuki? According to MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel, the Royals’ first Japanese pitcher worked out for Kansas City and Cleveland and will audition for the Dodgers as well. He’s spent the last three years in the Mexican League. (via MLBTR)
Again, I get it – it’s just a workout and his best hope is a non-roster invite. Accepting that, MAC SUZUKI? Really? You’d think that the fact that not only was he an awful major league pitcher (in his three full years in the bigs, he never once managed to get his WHIP below 1.532, which is 0.158 higher than favorite whipping boy Brett Tomko’s career mark), not only was he an awful minor league pitcher (4.65 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in parts of 9 seasons), but also was a mediocre Mexican League pitcher (4.00 ERA in 34 games last year) would be enough to get his career over with. You might also think the fact that he got cut from a Taiwanese team in 2007 would do it for him. I mean, he hasn’t even seen the majors since 2002. But no, that’s not even the kicker for me.
No, the topper is that all of those leagues, lousy as he was in them, are still several steps above his 2008 low: pitching for the Calgary Vipers of the independent “Golden League“. With such stalwart franchises as the “Harlingen WhiteWings” and the “Edmonton Cracker-Cats”, the Golden League – also known as “where hope goes to die” – is best known as where the corpses of Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco landed in recent years to promote themselves and their book deals, respectively.
Again, I get that it’s just a throwing session, but now we’re pulling guys out of glorified softball leagues? I mean, I’d almost rather get “Mac” from Punch-Out or just go listen to the Mooney Suzuki.
Or… well hell, if that’s where we’re looking for talent now, do I dare to dream? Perhaps my MLB 2K9 fantasies could come true in real life. Let’s see… he’s a washed-up has-been pitcher looking for a 2nd (or 3rd, or 8th chance). Sounds like he’d fit right in with this crew. He might be fictional, but I’d still take him over Shawn Estes.
Kenny Powers, come on down!
How Many McCourt Sins?
MSTI on the web
MSTI Library
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
