Did You Want Aubrey Huff?
November 24, 2010 at 10:49 am | Posted in Aubrey Huff | 64 CommentsOf the many criticisms directed at Ned Colletti over the years, there’s one I’ve never particularly agreed with, and that’s that he has a fascination with ex-Giants, having served as the club’s AGM for years. Most of the imports from San Francisco have basically been irrelevant, like Justin Miller, and Jeff Kent has an argument to be the best 2nd baseman in LA Dodger history. (Okay, Russ Ortiz was a complete disaster all around.) (Edit: as Alireza helpfully points out in the comments, Kent was a Paul DePodesta signing.)
So when the Giants won the World Series a few weeks ago on the backs of a strong pitching staff and miraculous, never-to-be-repeated performances by a bunch of generally mediocre veteran bats, the concern was that Colletti would look at his old mates and try to emulate that model. Hey, it’s not like he doesn’t have the art of signing mediocre veterans down to a science already, right?
Now personally, I never really bought into that. I could care less where the player came from and what team he’d been on before, as long as he can help the Dodgers going forward. Hell, other than Barry Bonds, Kent was the face of those early-decade Giants clubs, and he still became a valued Dodger just because of his performance on the field. (If not so much because of his performance off it.)
When Colletti signed Ted Lilly and Hiroki Kuroda to seveneight-figure contracts over the last few weeks, the voices rose once again. “He’s just going to spend on pitching! But what about the offense that was so bad last year? Just because it worked once for the Giants doesn’t mean it’ll work for us!” You’d be surprised how often I heard that, but I always found it ridiculous. There’s no argument that Lilly and Kuroda improve the club (for 2011, at least), and the starting rotation had only two returning starters in Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley. Why wouldn’t you want to improve the rotation? Sure, you could go get Carl Crawford and blow all your money in one place, but then what? Is your 3/4/5 John Ely, Charlie Haeger, and Dana Eveland? No, thanks.
But then the Giants signed Aubrey Huff to a 2/$22m deal, which most observers found to be excessive. Huff was awful at the plate in 2009, and has never been a good defender, so entering his age-33 season in 2010 he managed only a 1/$3m commitment from the Giants. The deal paid off wonderfully, but Huff tailed off at the season ended, putting up just a .786 OPS with 6 homers after August 1, with an OPS under .700 in the playoffs.
Still, he was a big part of why the Giants made it to October, so for them to overpay him was a little understandable. But there was an interesting facet to the deal, and that’s that another team had actually offered it and Giants GM Brian Sabean had to go to ownership for permission to match, which he received.
Do you really have to guess what team that ended up being?
After re-signing free-agent first baseman Aubrey Huff to a two-year, $22 million contract, Giants GM Brian Sabean told reporters, “One other club accelerated their interest and we played tag with that and were able to get in a position where we matched what the other club did.”
Who was that other club?
The Dodgers, according to major-league sources.
It could not be confirmed whether the Dodgers actually matched the Giants’ offer, but the team had definite interest in Huff, sources said.
Huff, who turns 34 on Dec. 20, could have fit the Dodgers at first base if the team traded James Loney or in left field as an upgrade over Jay Gibbons.
Of course it was. Because, why wouldn’t you want to get an overrated, declining older bat for big dollars? The fit here doesn’t even make sense; as a lefty bat, he can’t be platooned with either Loney or Gibbons. If you planned on putting him at 1B, then that makes Loney’s already-low trade value just about zero. If you want to put him in left field, well, there’s a reason that baseball-reference lists his position as “First Baseman, Designated Hitter and Third Baseman”. It’s one thing to suffer with bad defense when you’re getting Manny-level production, but Huff has been up-and-down in recent years and is hardly a lock to be valuable.
If there’s good news here, it’s that the Dodgers apparently still have money to spend. Yet in this case, I suppose we ought to thank the Giants, no? It’s a weird feeling.
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Ok Mike, I agree now. Gibbons is at least 85% of Huff for $500k.
Comment by Alireza— November 24, 2010 #
I’m not too sure of Gibbons being 85% of Huff but I’m sure for the money, the Dodgers would take 60%. There’s a reason why Huff signed so quickly for the 2 year and $22 million is because he wasn’t going to get a better offer. He has alternated good years with bad and is due for a bad one. Plus, as you pointed out, his last 8 weeks were nothing to send out the hats and hooters over. That being said, I’m also not sure of how much worse Huff is then Loney if he is at all. Albeit, there’s a lot to be said for consistency and Loney will you give you that. Just not the production you want out of your first baseman. As I like to say, you can’t have everything.
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 24, 2010 #
Hahah…”hats and hooters”
Comment by Gibby's Limp— November 24, 2010 #
I’m loving your Steely Dan reference, “Josie,” from one of my favorite albums of all time, AJA. Yes, I do remember albums and, George, I’m sure that you remember 78′s. To see the spin of a turntable again! I, for one, would rather have Loney and I’m not even against keeping the former BA guy and boyfriend of Rihanna. Or is that Matt Kemp? Oh to be young and single in LA!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 24, 2010 #
I’m so old that I remember when there was no music at all. Steely Dan sure was a great band from Can’t Buy a Thrill to Pretzel Logic to Countdown to Ecstasy, never a bad song. I still have about 2000 albums somewhere in the deep crevasses of my basement. I would say recesses but that was my favorite subject at school. Don’t sell Jay Gibbons short, right now he’s the Dodger LF against RHP. I’m the one that would rather see Hinske in that spot but what do I know? According to some, I still think that Dana Eveland is a 12 dollar player. Hinske plays some first as well which, if they have to, lets them get something for Loney. At least to me, Loney over Huff is a no-brainer in youth, ability and money. But there’s always something a little romantic about a guy that’s just won a World Championship!
Comment by george hubschman— November 24, 2010 #
One thing though – Wasn’t Kent a DePodesta signing?
Comment by Alireza— November 24, 2010 #
Yes. My mistake – good catch.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— November 24, 2010 #
The other day, when I first read that Sabean had to go to ownership for permission for more money to sign Huff, and that it was because of another team’s interest (and offer), I knew immediately the Dodgers were that other team. God, Ned is such a stupid ass…
Comment by Gibby's Limp— November 24, 2010 #
I predict Loney (hopefully in Dodger Blue) will put up better offensive numbers than hot and cold Huff in 2011. Loney’s defense is so much better that you didn’t even need to see ground balls pin balling off Huff’s knees in the playoffs to know that.
Comment by SamAdams— November 24, 2010 #
I will go out on the limb to say, Samuel, that Loney is a first ballot lock for the Hall of Fame in comparison to Huff. But the ring does fit well on Huff’s finger just no more shots of a shirtless Huff because I’m very impressionable.
Comment by Eddie Kurpiel— November 24, 2010 #
I am willing to buy the HGH for Loney if it means a couple more bombs!
Comment by Rusty— November 25, 2010 #
That is just like you, Rusty, to be so generous with your stash of drugs. Loney is a pretty big guy at 6’3″ and probably 230 lbs. I think we were all fooled by his 2007 call-up when he hit 15 home runs in 344 at bats. Since then, he’s hit 36 homers in 1764 at bats. I could take that but the .267 average? And he only hit .222 against lefties. I give Loney another chance. Don’t forget that Mattingly was a much richer man’s version of Loney but still, cut from the same cloth, may have a little more understanding then another manager might. Mattingly was the same type of player a lifetime ago but developed the requisite power that a corner infielder should possess. If Loney could get it to 20-25 homers we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 25, 2010 #
That’s what I like about the Dodgers, you can never count them out of anything. Except when it counts like Dan Uggla. Nishioka may be a good one but he won’t make us forget Ichiro Suzuki. Let’s just hope he makes us forget Kaz Matsui! Tell Coletti that sometimes the best deals are the ones that we don’t make.
Comment by Eddie Kurpiel— November 24, 2010 #
We’ll find out on Friday the possible future for Nishioka. I heard that it’s between the Giants and the Twins according to the East Coast talk and rotoimbeciles. Orlando Hudson, the former Dodger was granted arbitration, so I’m not sure if I follow there unless Nishioka will remain at short. I’ve read reports that his arm may be a little on the “short” side there but he’s young and like George Bernard Shaw said, “Youth is wasted on the young!”
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 24, 2010 #
it’s just like you, Pete to espouse about one of the great playwrights of all time but saying that Nishioka is young is like saying that Warren Buffet made something of his life! My sources say the Twins are in but that the Giants could be a dark-horse team here. For this kind of deal I would rather have you use some of the great quotes of Sparky Anderson the best of which was that Mike Laga would make us all forget every power hitter that ever lived. And sometimes hype is the best thing to add a few zeroes to your contract. I’m from the old-school and foolishly like to use history as my barometer. I just can’t get the thoughts of Kazuo Matsui out of my head no matter how hard I try! But I never heard in my baseball life that the next guy is worse. That would just be too honest so every new guy that comes along is the next version of Ichiro Suzuki. And it would be easier to believe if you could actually see them first!
Comment by george hubschman— November 24, 2010 #
I thought that you saw everything, George. Don’t forget the yankees paid a posting fee of $26,000,194.00 on Kei Igawa or $13-mil per major league win. It’s not bad work if you can get it! After his 5 year deal is up this year, I’m sure that the Bombers will use that extra $194 on his safe passage back to Japan. But if Igawa went for that much, what do you think Nishioka goes for? It would be funny if the Yankees somehow secretly bid and use the japanese kid as a replacement for Jeter. Well, not funny, but kind of funny/sad!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 25, 2010 #
Ned is to my Dodgers fandom what the Dementors (or whatever they’re called) are to Harry Potter – he sucks the hope out of my soul. I’m OK with Ned making mistakes in the rare moments when he’s going for something big. Andrew Jones turned out to be a horrible deal, but it was a creative attempt to address a need with a potential all-star (heck, at the time, a potential HOF) performer…. But the vast majority of Ned’s deals (Juan Pierre, Casey Blake, Jon Garland, the fat guy who played second, Dana Eveland, the Ortiz twins, Octavio F-ing Dotel, etc.) are aiming at mediocrity, not excellence. The idea of signing Aubrey Huff at those dollars is so stupid I actually doubt even Ned was in for those dollars. I mean, Huff at $3 million was a decent gamble. Huff at $11 per, for two years, might be a firing-worthy offense. But our interest in Huff (as opposed to, say, Uggla) indicates that, yes, again, we’re aiming for third place. A GM shouldn’t be trying for third; third should be what happens when the deals don’t work out. Ned must be replaced.
Comment by immouch— November 24, 2010 #
I’ll take it as good news that at least there’s more money to spend. The bad news may be that Ned is the one in charge of spending it…
Comment by Jon#7#22— November 24, 2010 #
Is it reasonable for me to at least DREAM that we get Adam Dunn? What’s that, Ned would sooner boil his mustache in lava than sign a guy with a good OBP? Yeah, you’re right. Forget I mentioned it.
Comment by SamL— November 24, 2010 #
Dunn had to wait until the last minute in 2009 to take a 2-year, $20-mil contract with the Nat’ls. Nothing wrong with that bounty but he would like to take approximately $50-mil over 3 years. That’s a tough deal to swallow for this one-dimensional power hitter. If he lowers his demands, someone will have a very productive hitter. The A.L. should be the landing area but, like Lance Berkman, Adam Dunn is the only one of us who doesn’t realize that his best position is DH.
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 24, 2010 #
I agree with most of this.
But what does “one dimensional power hitter” mean, exactly? I see this phrase a lot these days. Is it another way of saying a player is vastly more skilled than others when it comes to doing the single best thing that can happen on a baseball field – create a run with one swing? Or, more precisely, is it a way of saying a player isn’t particularly valuable because power is his only above average skill?
It’s like saying Bill Gates is a “one dimensional rich dude.” If somebody has to buy dinner, or a jet, that’s a pretty cool dimension.
Hitting homers, in a baseball game, is like having money when you need to buy dinner.
Or something like that.
I dunno. Maybe that’s whack.
And I don’t mean to be a tool on this topic. Like I said, I understand and agree with most of what you just wrote.
Comment by immouch— November 24, 2010 #
In fantasy baseball, the home run is the most important hit. It gives you a home run, and rbi, a run scored and adds to your batting average. In real baseball, it’s pretty cool too. I always loved the managers, that wait for the “3-run homer.” I personally subscribe to the theory that pitching and defense wins games. Call me old-fashioned. Call me over-the-hill! And, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying a guy $10-mil or so just to hit homers and take him out for defense in the 8th inning. It does seem a bit counter-productive but I’ll live with the 40 homers. Someone left the name Konerko on the site. I may be wrong but didn’t he come up through the Dodger system? Why not? He can hit one out and he can play some D. He won’t be as expensive as Dunn. He may just end up back on the southside anyway and then we’re back to square one. The question should be, are we all really that down on Loney?
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 25, 2010 #
Immouch makes a great point concerning Bill Gates and dinner reservations. I’m not sure that, in theory, buying dinner for a group of moguls is the same thing as a guy that can hit HR’s but has no position. Dunn, of course, is more than one-dimensional because, coming from the sabermetric school of baseball, I can appreciate a guy that likes to take a free stroll down to first. He could even run at one time, stealing 19 bases back in 2002. But, I’m thinking that there’s a reason why this prolific HR hitter has never been to the post-season. The Washington Nationals made the mistake of thinking that Dunn was the go-to guy. In a Dodger line-up featuring the likes of Kemp and Ethier, and even Furcal and Loney, Dunn would be just one of the boys. And, maybe the harsh reality is, that’s all he ever wanted to be. Not some big oaf that’s expected to carry the franchise on his back, but a contributor who can share a can of Heineken with the boys after a hard-fought win. And, by the way, Pete, it just excites me so when you talk about baseball history. Konerko did indeed come through the Dodger chain when dinosaurs roamed the earth! He even played 6 games here back in ’97 before he even shaved! I’ve said this a few times, I’m not adverse to keeping Loney at first and on a short leash. Because all you can get for him, at this pint, is nickels on the dollar. The Dodgers always have the option to make a bid on Eric Hinske! I would wait on that to see if they made an attempt on the Japanese kid, Nishioka. We should know more in a day or 2.
Comment by george hubschman— November 25, 2010 #
Konerko baby!
Comment by DodgersKings323— November 24, 2010 #
Oh to be a fly on the wall when Ned is discussing transactions. I honestly don’t know what this guy is thinking sometimes.
Comment by Dustin Nosler— November 24, 2010 #
Don’t ever forget that it was Uncle Ned’s background with the G’men that allowed us to steal Jason Schmidt. His 62 wins over the duration of his contract was money well spent. Oh, maybe that was a dream I had and the nightmare was the 10 f-ing games he did pitch in over 4 years. That and that alone should get Ned fired, he had to know that Schmidt shoulder was toast in 2005.
Comment by west coast ram— November 24, 2010 #
It’s well-documented that Ned already knew about Schmidt’s torn labrum before he signed him. It was a small tear, and Ned thought Schmidt might be able to pitch through it, despite the fact that his velocity dropped off in the second half of the prior season. Turned out he couldn’t pitch through it after the off-season rest. Great signing!
Comment by The Dude Abides— November 24, 2010 #
Dude…agreed that he might have thought that he could rest over the winter and pitch the following spring, but 4Y/48M to test that theory?????? If you look at Schmidt in 2005 all the signs are there that he was toast. He still pitched one additional unimpressive year for SF before this knucklehead signed him.
Comment by west coast ram— November 24, 2010 #
He actually had 180 strike outs in ’06 in 213 1/3 innings and I think that the Dodger hierarchy was paying more for a bulldog mentality then on any thought that he was getting better. But 4 years and $48 million is a lot to spend on a whim. And, keeping their fingers crossed didn’t work either! Schmidt did reward them in ’07 with a 6.31 ERA in 25 2/3 innings and everyone of his 22 k’s that weren’t pitchers should have been summarily dismissed to the nether lands!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 25, 2010 #
Wasn’t Rik VandenHurk from the Dutch countries? I love the wooden shoes though they must be hot in the summer! You forget, Pete, the great work of Schmidt in 2009 when he had 4 GS and 17 2/3 IP with a 2-2 record, 16 HA, an 8/12 K/BB and a 5.60 ERA/WHIP. I would like to give him credit for the old college try even if he was hurting. I would also have to say that this attempt at salvaging some of the monies was better than the pathetic attempt of Carl Pavano with the Yankees who, to quote the great Steve Miller, just wanted to “take the money and run!” Lest we forget, Schmidt was a top 2 or 3 SP in the NL from ’02-’04 when he hurled 8 SH.O., had a 48-20 record, a 655/196 K/BB, 465 HA, and a 2.99/1.07 ERA/WHIP in 618 IP. So I’ll say that Schmittie did make something of his life and the only pile of dirt on this whole thing is Ned Coletti adheres to the theory of “a day late and a dollar short!” Because there could be no other explanation for this.
Comment by george hubschman— November 25, 2010 #
George, I’ll tell you one thing, the wooden shoes are hard to play golf in! Schmidt did make a valiant attempt in 2009 at a comeback but I had already stuck a fork in him. He was marvelous for those 3 wonderful years of the early 2000′s. Not all of us reach those heights. The problem there is that it makes the fall that much more precipitous and heartfelt for the fan. Coletti did try to get some worth for him but even a bystander like yourself could see that he was done! I remember telling you at the time that this could be a foray into ineptitude but don’t recall your opinion. But like we say in our business, hindsight is a wonderful thing! Let me add something, George, you were half right. Coletti is usually a day late but never a dollar short!
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 25, 2010 #
>> When Colletti signed Ted Lilly and Hiroki Kuroda to seven-figure contracts over the last few weeks,
.
Lilly and Kuroda both signed EIGHT-figure contracts.
Comment by nsxtasy— November 24, 2010 #
Ah, true.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— November 24, 2010 #
I’m utterly speechless.
Comment by Steve— November 24, 2010 #
The source of this story is Ken Rosenthal. Despite some of the sense it might make, Huff was interviewed last night on KNBR as was Shulman of the Chronicle later. Most people agree one team was Texas, other team actually may have been White Sox. I can’t prove it but question the Dodgers as the foil given all of the reasons why it doesn’t make sense from a pure baseball perspective.
Comment by Louis— November 24, 2010 #
The Mariners signed Haeger today, so he couldn’t be our 4th starter now even if we wanted him to be.
Comment by Gibby's Limp— November 24, 2010 #
good ridance to that bum
Comment by format— November 24, 2010 #
I remember Haeger’s first start to the season in April when he K’d 12 guys in 6 innings and gave up 3 hits and 4 walks. Everybody was on him as a free agent. He ended the season with the Dodgers 0-4 in 30 innings with an 8.40 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP with 30 K’s and 26 BB’s. To say that he sucked would be an insult to guys that just suck. He would have had to get 100% better to suck! Of course, he was optioned to Triple-A in June and wasn’t much better. He did give the Dodgers a little love in ’09 with 15 K and 13 hits in 19 IP and a 3.32 ERA. That, format, may be the high point of his career. The one good thing now is that he’d be in the best pitcher’s park in the AL but, alas, he may have to get in just like the rest of us.
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 24, 2010 #
What I remember about that game is that we might as well of had no catcher that day as Martin was chasing everything to the backstop. Everyone raves about Martin’s defense but all I see is a guy who blocks at a 50/50 rate.
Comment by west coast ram— November 24, 2010 #
It was great when Martin was hitting a little and running the bases but that hasn’t happened in a while. The Dodgers would seem to be best advised to non-tender him. Some of these organizational types are tougher to let go of. Ab, I agree that Haeger will have to pay to get in like the rest of us and will go with the thought that when you choose to take on the knuckle ball, you’re at the mercy of its whims. When the stars are aligned, you have a season like R.A. Dickey. Otherwise you’re just a journeyman like Haeger and a lower end one at that. There are plenty of guys like that in baseball. The only problem is that you’ll find them in Double-A!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 24, 2010 #
Russell Martin’s last 2 seasons, and I know he had the hip injury in ’10, read like this: .249 average in 836 at bats, 108 runs, 12 homers, 79 rbi’s and 17 sb’s. I’m not sure if that’s worth a raise from the Dodgers or any other team. He’d be a good guy on a 3 million dollar deal or a little less! R.A. Dickey did something special this year and became the Mets best pitcher in the 2nd half of the season. He’s never done it before and I would be hard-pressed to think that he will do it again! But those are the seasons that we remember and, if we don’t overpay for that one moment of frolic and merriment, the team should be in good shape. Of course it’s tough not to pay for a repeat of any of these guys. A 36 year old knuckle-baller or a 28 year old catcher. What’s the difference? These guys are all looking for past performance pay, anyway! Just look at the Yankees and Jeter. I would cut Martin off at the knees for now but do invite him back at less of a bounty.
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 25, 2010 #
Martin’s defense is excellent. It is hard to fault a guy who has never regularly caught a knuckleballer for having some issues with it.
Comment by Alireza— November 26, 2010 #
i agree huff wouldve been an awful signing at 11 million but i have always just assumed huff was going to resign with the giants which makes me think that if the dodgers were involved it might have been to drive up the price for the giants.
Comment by matt— November 24, 2010 #
Kent is automatically horrible for being a part of the reason Colletti was brought in and bad mouthing Vinny. But this is a nice move, i hope it was just a bluff to get the Giants to overpay.
Comment by DodgersKings323— November 24, 2010 #
it would have been a hilarious move if we bluffed, the giants walked, and the team was stuck with yet another terrible contract….all for just a bluff
Comment by brett butler— November 25, 2010 #
Kind of like the Pierre situation, if I remember correctly. Supposedly Sabean bid huge on Slappy and Ned one-upped him and we got stuck with the first down marker masquerading as a baseball player.
Comment by grabarkewitz— November 25, 2010 #
What is Juan Pierre, really? He’s Herb Washington with talent. And he’s put together a career that only a mother could be proud of! His 68 stolen bases for the White Sox led the A.L. and you can always count on him to show up for work on time and ready to play. Sometimes, that’s not a good thing! I’d like to see him get a ball or 2 out of the infield as evidenced by his 22 extra base hits on the season. But I guess we can’t have everything. I was sure, also, that Pierre found himself when Manny was on the shelf with drugs but, in this case, sometimes the best deals are the ones that you do make!
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 26, 2010 #
All u Schmidt hatters r a bunch of fools!give ned some credit please at the time schmidt was maybe the best starting pitcher on the market.(do u remember we could have been stuck with zito instead)im tired of this so called dodger fans bitching and moaning about how l.a’s penny pinching.how fast do we forget we signed jones who was one of the best f.a o/f at the time .l.a traded for manny and resigned him too.he later took l.a to the nlcs 2yrs in a row he also brought hope to l.a and made dodgers stadium an exciting place.yes i know schmidt,jones,pierre didn’t work out . thats why from now on they have to penny pinch or be smarter !
Comment by Pete guerrero— November 25, 2010 #
LOL…the reason we’re bitching is that Clueless Ned knew about Schmidt’s torn labrum before signing him for 3 years/$47 million. How stupid can one GM be? That act alone should have resulted in an immediate firing, but Frank is just as clueless as Ned is.
Comment by The Dude Abides— November 25, 2010 #
Are you kidding? Anyone, in the real world, who had Ned’s track record would be at the Unemployment Office taking a number. The man’s successes can be counted on one hand – Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown’s hand. Aside from falling into Ethier, having Saito basically beg for a job and getting 400 decent at bats from Manny, the man has made himself a joke in the industry. His list of failures are monumental. Blake for Santana. Signing Pierre, Schmidt, Jones, etc… Plus, how can anyone forget his coup de grace – McDonald and Lambo for Octavio “POS” Dotel and half a million. Even astute GMs like Epstein, Cashman or Jocketty would be punching up their resumes with failures of that ilk.
Comment by grabarkewitz— November 25, 2010 #
If the Dodgers got the Gnats to overpay for Huff, which seems likely, that’s a good thing.
Comment by WBB— November 25, 2010 #
I feel good about next season. When Donny was announced manager I was thinking we could do better but we can also do worse. But the coaching staff we have now seems promising. I think we might have a chance next season. I don’t think we need a big bat (although. It would be nice) I think ethier, Kemp and gibbons can combination for good power numbers plus the 90 plus rbi’s loney can contribute and a healthy furcal and the mysterious disappearance of Ned coletti would help too. I know my post is full of “I thinks” but a lil. Optimism never hurt anyone.
Comment by oggy— November 25, 2010 #
I did read that the Dodgers will not tender LH RP, George Sherrill, a contract. That comes near the top of my list of no-brainers. The article did say that Sherill was terrible with a 6.69/1.93 ERA/WHIP but in the same sentence stated that he was great vs LH with a .192 BAA. Hey, that’s all well and good but wouldn’t that be like saying that O.J. Simpson really is a great guy except when he’s murdering people? Hey, I’m all for free enterprise and there was a time when Sherrill was a viable cog both in real baseball and its fantasy counterpart. But there comes a time when you just have to cut the cord, put all your ducks in a row, and re-evaluate the situation. I’m sure that Sherrill will be sought after as a LH specialist, a thankless and “unromantic” job. Or he’ll just bide his time on the waiver wire until something opens up. Because, in baseball, that always seems to happen. Hey, who knows, the Dodgers may ask him to prove his worth on a minor-league deal.
Comment by george hubschman— November 26, 2010 #
Don’t forget the great work that Sherrill did in the waning months of ’09 for the Dodger faithful. In 27 2/3 innings, he had an 0.65 E.R.A. and a 1.08 W.H.I.P. That was coming off 20 saves with the O’s and a 2.40 E.R.A. So, there is a history on his side. Do you think that we should give Sherrill a mulligan on his ’10 season? Or are we just so unforgiving that we banish him to the highest bidder? Because, believe it or not, there will be a line up the block for him. Not as long a line for say the ABBA revival. But he’ll see his suitors and will hope for one more bounty that M.L.B. is always so quick to provide. Like you said, the Dodgers could investigate a cheaper deal with him because the non-tendering issue was a no-brainer. I like an $800,000 deal or $32,000 for every strike out. For that money you may get back out there for a strike out or 2!
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 26, 2010 #
Hey, give the guy credit for hanging in even when it was evident that he’d never be used in a meaningful situation again! And before you go bemoaning any ABBA fans, I was in that line. In hindsight the line for Sherrill would be a better place to be, that’s for sure. Like you point out, Sherrill was actually a useful pitcher and in differing roles. I just wish that he could stop the bases on balls. The bottom line is that a walk isn’t as good as a hit from a pitcher’s perspective and that the practice of “strike one” should be in play here. There’s a school for that, you know! I’ll even go as far to sat that $1.2 million is a fair number for Sherrill to munch on and that’s if we’re to give him a mulligan on 2010. My one proviso would be that you have to play your 2nd ball!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 26, 2010 #
Grabarkewtz your a fool! youre beloved cashman signed kei igawa,pavano,a-rod to a annual salary of 30 mill well into his 40s just to name a few nice!epstein of course had to sign lugo (after killing the ball during his time with l.a ) and while he was at it he gave 70 mill to j.d and 100mill to dice-k yikes!and finally jockety i cant say enough about him trading for lugo,giving away haren for mulder just genius.the point is every one makes mistakes heck we consider a good hitter some one whos has success 3 out of 10 times any other job with that track record would have been fired real quick!
Comment by Pete guerrero— November 26, 2010 #
For the $26 MM posting fee and another $20 MM over 5 years, I don’t think that Brian Cashman got a good deal from the Japanese left hander. I’m sure that the extra $194 given to his posting fee will be used for his “safe” passage back East where he can bide his time in his rocking chair in relative anonymity. And Pete G., don’t be so quick to minimize the importance of those mistakes. It may just make you think twice the next time the same situation occurs. Of course, for some GM’s, it takes 3 or 4 mistakes before they learn. The only problem with that is by the time they learn, they’re on to the next job. Coletti has done reasonable for what he has to work with. But, you have to figure with all the signings of career mediocrities, once-was and never-have-beens, he would look to the sanctuary of the real player. Yes, a guy that can actually help the cause. Because, deep down, I think that Coletti had compromising pictures of ownership that he can’t tell anyone. And if I told you what they were, I’d have to kill you!
Comment by Abner Clarke— November 26, 2010 #
I see, Abner, that you liked my idea of packaging Igawa with the $194 extra spent on posting. In reality, it should be up to the Japanese to see him safely through customs. Igawa was a mistake of mammoth proportions but maybe if he helped the boys down on the farm with their Japanese, it wasn’t a total loss. I’d really like to know what’s Japanese for 2 wins over a 5 year contract. Because, when push comes to shove, he never had any business in a major league uniform. Which makes me think that the Japanese League is a similar version to our Triple-A! Unless you’re among the very special like Ichiro Suzuki or, to a lesser extent, Hideki Matsui. But those gems aren’t easy to mine for. And, we as fans are always waiting for that next great Japanese ballplayer that will make us forget about all these “mistakes.” And, you’re right, Coletti does have a special pipe-line with the lord. I prefer a long string tied to 2 cans myself but when in a bind I’ll call out for special favors and hope, like Coletti does, that someone is listening!
Comment by Pete Sweeney— November 26, 2010 #
I’d like to know what’s Japanese for “you suck.” I have wondered on what level the Japanese major leagues is on. It may be even at a level between AA and AAA or around the play of the Pirates. But, alas, Aki Iwamura didn’t work out in the Iron City. Colletti may know some people in high places but I would figure with the new manager and a bevy of baseball savvy coaches, the Dodgers may want to check out the market on GM’s. And I don’t mean a guy like Omar Minaya but maybe a fresh new face who, and you may kill me, is a guy with no GM experience but, maybe a good businessman with some baseball smarts. That’s after an extensive search because the first pre-requisite for that type of job, where you’re spending other people’s money, is an IQ of over 125. Because, and I don’t know about you, I’m getting sick of the Carlos Silvas, Jeff Suppans and Barry Zitos of the world getting rich while it costs us $500 for my family to go to a game!
Comment by Eddie Kurpiel— November 26, 2010 #
Perhaps the Dodgers made a bid just so the Giants would have to pay more? More money spent on Huff means less money the Giants have to spend on another bat.
Comment by Nofatmike— November 26, 2010 #
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