Daily Archives: August 24, 2010

Rod Barajas Lives the Dream

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In just one game, Rod Barajas became the second-most valuable catcher the Dodgers have had all year.

No, really. His three extra-base hits are as many as Brad Ausmus and A.J. Ellis have all season long, combined, and his WPA (Win Probability Added) in this game was .472, which far outweighs the -0.30 Ausmus and -0.29 Ellis have “contributed”. So for that alone, his acquisition is worthwhile.

Of course, let’s not go overboard on Barajas, just yet. (I’m actually already fending off people on Twitter who wanted to sign him for 2011 before the game was even official.) I still stand by my feelings from when he was acquired; he’s better than Ausmus and Ellis, but that’s faint praise.

That’s more of a long-term conversation though, and tonight is Barajas’ night. As I noted before the game, I might not be a huge fan of his, but hearing him on the pregame show going on and on about how he grew up in Southern California dying to put on the Dodger uniform, and that this is a serious dream come true for him, makes it really hard not to root for the guy. I can’t imagine how he feels right now – and good for him. He deserves it.

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Hey, Matt Kemp: the bomb of a homer you hit, which was conservatively estimated at 450 feet, was incredible. You didn’t even get a full step in your swing, but still put it off the center field scoreboard, a good 30 feet up, for your third homer in three games. So when you prove that you can do something that awesome, can you please not come out and bunt the next time out? Whether or not you get on base (he didn’t) or not is irrelevant. You’re a power hitter finally getting your groove back. Don’t give away outs by bunting. Ever.

Seriously, though, Kemp crushed that ball. Let me show you. Here’s Miller Park, and note that I’ve placed a baseball on the scoreboard where his homer landed:

(Update: okay, it turns out ESPN’s caption was wrong. The ball in the scoreboard was stuck there from BP, not Kemp. Still, it’s a hell of a blast.)

Don’t believe me? Check out this amazing picture from ESPN.com:

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In the 4th inning, with Barajas at the plate with two outs, Jamey Carroll was picked off first base by Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Or was he?

Robot umps, as soon as possible, please.

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Hiroki Kuroda was placed on waivers today, reports Ken Rosenthal. There’s no indication that the Dodgers are actually ready to sell, but there should be no shortage of interest in a guy like Kuroda. Though I doubt he’d get that far, the Yankees would certainly put in a claim.

Do the Right Thing, Ned: Let Manny Go

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Manny Ramirez may or may not have been placed on waivers yet, but once he is, Ken Rosenthal reports that the White Sox aren’t going to let him slip by. That’s somewhat of a surprise; unlike Ted Lilly, we’d generally assumed that Manny would pass through waivers, as the approximately $4-5m left on his deal this year would scare off most teams.

But not the White Sox, of course, which probably isn’t a surprise given that they took on over $61m of Alexis Rios‘ deal when they claimed him off waivers from Toronto last year.

If Manny had made it through waivers, the Dodgers would have had to work out a deal with whichever team they traded him to. That would likely be for a decent, but not great, prospect, and some, but not complete, salary relief. If the White Sox do claim him, the Dodgers would have little trade leverage since they wouldn’t be able to talk to any other teams. However, they can simply say to Chicago, “okay, take him” and relieve themselves of all of Manny’s remaining salary… and that’s exactly what they need to do. They need to let him go.

If he’s claimed, rather than free to be moved to any team, the game has changed. No longer can they play one team off another, threatening teams who lowball with the idea that Manny might go to their competitors. It’d be the White Sox or nothing, and that means Chicago isn’t going to give up anyone of value. Dayan Viciedo? Tyler Flowers? Forget it. Whomever you could get wouldn’t be worth it, and if you hold out for a player, that would just lessen the money Chicago takes back. Just admit the season is over, stick them with the entire bill, and move on.

It’s the right move, no question, but if it happens, mark my words, we’ll be seeing these two amazingly hilarious aftereffects:

Hilarious outcome #1: Manny would join Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones in Chicago. While it’s highly unlikely that all three would ever play the outfield at the same time, since the DH is in play and Rios and Carlos Quentin are there, just the thought of all three of them on the same roster could be enough to make the entire earth cave in on itself.

Hilarious outcome #2: Miles of sob stories from mainstream journalists claiming that Manny’s value was so low that the Dodgers couldn’t even get a player for him… as though doing so wasn’t the completely correct move. Just you wait.