2010 January « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

Robb Quinlan Is Also Not the Answer

January 7, 2010 at 4:52 pm | Posted in Robb Quinlan | 4 Comments

Normally a rumor like this isn’t worth devoting an entire post to, but with the “Dodgers of the Decade” series running strong, I’ve somehow managed to eat up nearly two weeks without having to actually write a post about these dark, cold, winter days (which, ah, are only going to get colder since the low is 13 degrees for the outdoor hockey game at Fenway I’ll be attending tomorrow). Also, this one pretty much writes itself.

Via the Twitter of TrueBlueLA, MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer writes…

Dodgers interested in versatile Robb Quinlan as fourth outfielder.

Versatile? Sure, in the sense that he’s seen time at both infield corners and both outfield corners. You know what, though? I’m versatile in that I can play a little bass, sort of play guitar, and atrociously play drums, but that doesn’t mean I should be joining Green Day anytime soon.

Just think of all the qualities Robb Quinlan could provide! I mean, who wouldn’t want a guy who’s old (34 in March), on the decline (steadily decreasing OPS for four years in a row) and unplayable when not injured (steadily decreasing at-bat totals for four years in a row).

But oh, the positions he can play! Four of them! And he’s only below-average at, well, three of the four of them. UZR scores for his career have him being slightly below-average at 1B (-1.0), lousy at 3B (-7.9), average-ish in LF (-0.3), and slightly below-average in RF (-1.0).

Really, the fact that this guy has even stuck around for as long as he has is nothing short of miraculous. He can’t really field, he’s not much of a hitter (somehow striking out 26.1% of the time last year to go with that ridiculous .275 OBP), he’s not a great runner (14 career SB) and, as I said, he’s old.

If you want a backup outfielder, you have Xavier Paul or Jason Repko, who both at least offer strong arms and solid defense in addition to whatever hopes you can put on their bats. If you want a mediocre veteran who can play a few positions, well, isn’t that what Doug Mientkiewicz is for? Quinlan is NRI material at best, and even that’s a stretch.

(Don’t forget to cast your vote for RH reliever in the Dodger of the Decade competition, in the next post below. It’s a dead tie right now between Paul Quantrill and Guillermo Mota! I’ll put up closer tomorrow morning, which should be hilarious, and let you animals chew on that through the weekend.)

Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Reliever

January 7, 2010 at 8:15 am | Posted in Duaner Sanchez, Giovanni Carerra, Guillermo Mota, Matt Herges, Paul Quantrill, Ramon Troncoso | 12 Comments

Hong-Chih Kuo with 57%, Joe Beimel with 43%. And one smart-ass who voted for Tom Martin!

Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
1B: James Loney (62%)
2B: Jeff Kent (88%)
3B: Adrian Beltre (80%)
SS: Rafael Furcal (87%)
LF: Gary Sheffield (62%)
CF: Matt Kemp (94%)
RF: Shawn Green (79%)
LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%)
RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%)
LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%)

How about righty relievers? This isn’t exactly a top-shelf group either. Just wait until closer!

Right-Handed Reliever

Giovanni Carrera (429 games, 2001-02, 2004-06)
Dodger stats: 24-11, 3.32 ERA, 121 ERA+, .707 OPS against
WAR: 4.1

Guillermo Mota (232 games, 2002-04, 2009)
Dodger stats: 18-14, 2.79 ERA, 143 ERA+, .612 OPS against
WAR: 3.6

Paul Quantrill (175 games, 2002-03)
Dodger stats: 7-9, 2.22 ERA, 176 ERA+, .620 OPS against
WAR: 3.4

Duaner Sanchez (146 games, 2004-05)
Dodger stats: 7-8, 3.56 ERA, 115 ERA+, .734 OPS against
WAR: 1.1

Matt Herges (134 games, 2000-01)
Dodger stats: 20-11, 3.30 ERA, 127 ERA+, .704 OPS against
WAR: 3.5

Ramon Troncoso (105 games, 2008-09)
Dodger stats: 6-5, 3.21 ERA, 125 ERA+, .688 OPS against
WAR: 1.1

Top three seasons
2.8 WAR Mota, 2003
2.4 WAR Quantrill, 2003
1.9 WAR Mota, 2004

In retrospect, that’s not really a great group. Is Giovanni Carrera really the best Dodger righty reliever of the decade? Can we really vote for Guillermo Mota after his steroid suspension and how lousy he was for much of his 2009 return?

Gotta pick someone, I suppose: who’s your righty reliever?

Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Reliever

January 6, 2010 at 7:14 am | Posted in Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel, Tom Martin | 20 Comments

Kevin Brown, eh? In what was by far the most hotly-contested race (until we get to closer, I imagine) Brown wins the righty starter role narrowly over Derek Lowe, 42% to 35%. Brown’s also the only player so far to not win at least half the votes, so clearly fans were split on this one. Lots of good arguments in that thread. So let’s put him on the team…

…and move on to the bullpen. Only three lefty relievers fit our standards, and this should be interesting, I think. Tom Martin’s got no chance, but do you go with Joe Beimel, a fan favorite who put up the best numbers? Or Hong-Chih Kuo, who was definitely more dominating when he was available?

Left-Handed Reliever

Joe Beimel (216 games, 2006-08)
Dodger stats: 11-4, 3.04 ERA, 144 ERA+, .684 OPS against
WAR: 3.6

Tom Martin (127 games, 2003-04)
Dodger stats: 1-3, 3.74 ERA, 108 ERA+, .704 OPS against
WAR: 2.0

Hong-Chih Kuo (122 games, 2005-09)
Dodger stats: 9-13, 3.77 ERA, 113 ERA+, .656 OPS against
WAR: 2.6

Top three seasons
2.3 WAR Kuo, 2008
1.5 WAR Beimel, 2008
1.3 WAR Beimel, 2006

Fun fact about Tom Martin; even though he appeared in 127 games over those two seasons, he notched only 79.1 innings.

Steady and reliable, or excellent but inconsistent? Vote now!

Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Starter

January 5, 2010 at 9:12 am | Posted in Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley, Chan Ho Park, Darren Dreifort, Derek Lowe, Hideo Nomo, Hiroki Kuroda, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown | 17 Comments

I have to say, I’m surprised that Clayton Kershaw won for top lefty starter. Sure, he was great last year, but was that limited body of work enough to make him the best starter of the entire decade? Still, the crowd has spoken, so onto the roster he goes…

…and we move on to right-handed starters. There’s a lot of good options here. Do you go with Derek Lowe or Brad Penny, both very good for several years? Kevin Brown, probably the best of all but only during a short period? Chad Billingsley, who may the best of anyone named here when he’s done? Or just say “screw it, I’m voting for Darren Dreifort”?

Right-Handed Starter

Derek Lowe (135 starts, 2005-08)
Dodger stats: 54-48, 3.59 ERA, 120 ERA+, .679 OPS against
WAR: 12.7

Brad Penny (115 starts, 2004-08)
Dodger stats: 46-33, 4.07 ERA, 106 ERA+, .741 OPS against
WAR: 10.1

Chad Billingsley (100 starts, 2006-09)
Dodger stats: 47-30, 3.55 ERA, 119 ERA+, .707 OPS against
WAR: 10.3

Kevin Brown (94 starts, 2000-03)
Dodger stats: 40-23, 2.76 ERA, 149 ERA+, .623 OPS against
WAR: 14.4

Hideo Nomo (85 starts, 2002-04)
Dodger stats: 36-30, 4.05 ERA, 97 ERA+, .734 OPS against
WAR: 3.3

Jeff Weaver (75 starts, 2004-05, 2009)
Dodger stats: 33-28, 4.04 ERA, 101 ERA+, .742 OPS against
WAR: 4.3

Chan Ho Park (74 starts, 2000-01, 2008)
Dodger stats: 37-25, 3.39 ERA, 123 ERA+, .681 OPS against
WAR: 9.9

Darren Dreifort (58 starts, 2000-04)
Dodger stats: 21-24, 4.41 ERA, 95 ERA+, .739 OPS against
WAR: 1.5

Hiroki Kuroda (51 starts, 2008-09)
Dodger stats: 17-17, 3.74 ERA, 109 ERA+, .665 OPS against
WAR: 5.4

Top three seasons
6.5 WAR Brown, 2000
5.9 WAR Penny, 2007
5.4 WAR Brown, 2003

Tough choices. It’s Jeff Weaver, right?

Who is your top righty starting pitcher?

Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Starter

January 4, 2010 at 7:27 am | Posted in Clayton Kershaw, Kaz Ishii, Odalis Perez, Randy Wolf | 28 Comments

I have to say, I’m impressed. I would have thought that Andre Ethier’s 2009 heroics would have won him more votes, but Shawn Green crushed him 79% to 18% (with just 3% for J.D. Drew. So we now have our complete lineup of the decade…

…and now we’re moving on to pitchers, and rather than go through an entire staff we’re going to pick five arms - top lefty & righty starters, top lefty & righty relievers (non-closers), and top closer. The threshold for the starters is going to be 50 starts – so let’s say sorry right off the bat to guys like Omar Daal, David Wells, and Carlos Perez.

Left-Handed Starter

Odalis Perez (120 starts, 2002-06)
Dodger stats: 45-40, 3.94 ERA, 102 ERA+, .715 OPS against
WAR: 4.5

Kaz Ishii (86 starts, 2002-04)
Dodger stats: 36-25, 4.30 ERA, 92 ERA+, .754 OPS against
WAR: 0.5

Randy Wolf (52 starts, 2007, 2009)
Dodger stats: 20-13, 3.72 ERA, 110 ERA+, .695 OPS against
WAR: 3.3

Clayton Kershaw (51 starts, 2008-09)
Dodger stats: 13-13, 3.36 ERA, 120 ERA+, .656 OPS against
WAR: 5.4

Top three seasons
4.2 WAR Perez, 2002
4.2 WAR Kershaw, 2009
3.4 WAR Perez, 2004

Remember, this is “Dodger of the Decade”, not “who’s the best right now” or “who will be the best”, because obviously Kershaw would crush that. You can still vote for him if you want, of course, just make sure it’s for the right reasons.

Top lefty starter of the decade?

Dodgers of the Decade: Right Field

January 2, 2010 at 1:14 pm | Posted in Andre Ethier, J.D. Drew, Shawn Green | 17 Comments

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Matt Kemp crushed the center field competition, winning 94% of the vote in what is by far the biggest romp so far. And there I thought Tom Goodwin really had a chance! Oddly enough, each of the other 8 guys got at least one vote.

Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
1B: James Loney (62%)
2B: Jeff Kent (88%)
3B: Adrian Beltre (80%)
SS: Rafael Furcal (87%)
LF: Gary Sheffield (62%)
CF: Matt Kemp (94%)

Today is right field, and here’s a battle which I think is going to be extremely interesting. Will people go with their hearts and vote for Andre Ethier, who provided so many great moments in 2009? Shawn Green, who had some huge years in the early part of the decade? Or J.D. Drew, who despite being unpopular had the highest OBP and OPS of all three – and a better season than Ethier ever did?

Right Field

Shawn Green (798 games, 2000-04)
Dodger stats: .280/.366/.510 .876 162 hr 509 rbi
WAR: 18.9

Andre Ethier (580 games, 2006-09)
Dodger stats: .291/.363/.490 .853 75 hr 302 rbi
WAR: 8.7

J.D Drew (218 games, 2005-06)
Dodger stats: .284/.399/.505 .905 35 hr 136rbi
WAR: 6.4

Top three seasons
7.1 WAR Green, 2001
6.9 WAR Green, 2002
3.8 WAR Drew, 2006

The Dodgers may have had their issues at a lot of positions this decade, but you certainly can’t say that about right field, because all three of these guys are outstanding. It’d look even better if I’d included the 4th man who played 100 games in right field, Matt Kemp.

Who rounds out the starting lineup of the decade?

Dodgers of the Decade: Center Field

January 1, 2010 at 10:50 am | Posted in Dave Roberts, Jason Repko, Juan Pierre sucks, Marquis Grissom, Matt Kemp, milton bradley, Tom Goodwin | 13 Comments

It’s our first surprise of the balloting, at least in my opinion - Gary Sheffield beats out Manny Ramirez in left field, and while him winning isn’t the surprise, I am intrigued that Sheffield won by nearly 30%. Let’s put him up on the board…

Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
1B: James Loney (62%)
2B: Jeff Kent (88%)
3B: Adrian Beltre (80%)
SS: Rafael Furcal (87%)
LF: Gary Sheffield (62%)

…and move on to center. Hey, there’s a chance that Juan Pierre beats Matt Kemp, right? Personally, I’m voting for Marquis Grissom.

Center Field

Matt Kemp (464 games, 2006-09)
Dodger stats: .299/.346/.480 .826 61 hr 242 rbi
WAR: 9.5

Juan Pierre (426 games, 2007-09)
Dodger stats: .294/.339/.357 .696 1 hr 100 rbi
WAR: 1.4

Dave Roberts (302 games, 2002-04)
Dodger stats: .262/.342/.341 .683 7 hr 71 rbi
WAR: 4.8

Marquis Grissom (246 games, 2001-02)
Dodger stats: .245/.281/.450 .731 38 hr 130 rbi
WAR: 0.9

Jason Repko (230 games, 2005-09)
Dodger stats: .226/.297/.371 .668 11 hr 47 rbi
WAR: -0.1

Milton Bradley (216 games, 2004-05)
Dodger stats: .275/.358/.446 .804 32 hr 105 rbi
WAR: 4.8

Tom Goodwin (161 games, 2000-01)
Dodger stats: .239/.296/.316 .612 5 hr 33 rbi
WAR: -0.2

Kenny Lofton (129 games, 2006)
Dodger stats: .301/.360/.403 .763 3 hr 41 rbi
WAR: 0.9

Top three seasons
5.8 WAR Kemp, 2009
3.6 WAR Bradley, 2004
3.0 WAR Kemp, 2008

Man, I forgot how good Kenny Lofton was for the Dodgers in 2006. Imagine if they’d just signed him to a cheap one-year deal to keep the seat warm for Matt Kemp in 2007 rather than giving $44m to Pierre? I can only imagine where this franchise could be right now.

Best center fielder? Have at it.