Dee Gordon Arrives, But Is the Timing Right?
June 6, 2011 at 1:52 pm | Posted in Dee Gordon, Jay Gibbons | 40 Comments
I dipped out of a slow day at work early today to enjoy the weather and run some errands, keeping one eye on Twitter for the inevitable roster move news. We’d all expected that when Blake Hawksworth, Marcus Thames, & Juan Uribe were activated, John Ely, Ivan DeJesus, and probably Jerry Sands would be shipped off to take their places. Yesterday, I had prepared a post about how Sands heading down wouldn’t be a bad thing, despite the negative response I expected from fans, planning to hit publish while out and about today. In it, I noted that Matt Kemp & Clayton Kershaw had each returned to the minors after making their debuts, and how doing the same for the slumping Sands might not be the worst thing in the world – and I got to compare Juan Castro to a potted plant. It would have been great.
Well, that’s a post that will never see the light of day, because the Dodgers threw us a series of curveballs by making four roster moves today. Yes, Hawksworth, Thames, and Uribe are all back. Yes, Ely and DeJesus got shipped out. But so did veterans Juan Castro and Jay Gibbons. And joining the club, most surprisingly of all, is young shortstop Dee Gordon. As I write this draft on a crowded subway train home, I am, quite frankly, stunned.
Let’s start with the small fish first. Hawksworth for Ely was expected, particularly after Ely threw over 50 pitches yesterday, and so was Uribe for DeJesus. Each move represents an upgrade. Gibbons getting a DFA for Thames is far more surprising, though not entirely unwelcome. I’ve been pretty clear for a while in saying that Gibbons provides little value on either offense or defense, though I didn’t think they’d send out the lefty bat, and I wasn’t against Sands getting a minor league breather. Gibbons is almost certain to pass through waivers and report to ABQ anyway, so we might not have seen the last of him. This decision to stick with the young Sands over the veteran Gibbons is really one that deserves more attention, but it’ll be brushed under the rug because of the Gordon move.
I really can’t say enough how surprised I am that Gordon is coming to replace Castro. First and foremost, credit is due the Dodgers for finally deciding to stop wasting a roster spot on the completely useless Castro, though I suppose it’s not like he is any more useless now than when they chose to sign him in the first place. (Or the time before that, or the time before that…) Like Gibbons, he won’t be claimed so we may yet see stint #5 from the ageless, hitless, gloveless wonder.
All of this takes us to Gordon, and I must admit that I am torn. He’s the most exciting player the Dodgers have in their system, and a roster spot used on him rather than Castro pushes the team light-years ahead as far as watchability and interest. Yet, the speed of his promotion is difficult to wrap my head around. Many observers, myself included, expected him to start 2011 in AA, and were somewhat surprised that he was pushed to ABQ to start the year. In an offense-heavy environment, he has a good-but-not-stellar line of .315/.361/.370. (Lest you think I’m being too harsh, remember that this is the team on which career nothing JD Closser is hitting .298/.389/.529.) Not a single reputable analyst expected him here this quickly, and when I interviewed Christopher Jackson, who covers the ‘topes daily, he joked that if Gordon were put in the majors right now, he’d break Jose Offerman‘s errors record. As we’ve all heard so many times, Gordon, who didn’t play baseball seriously until high school, is an extremely raw prospect, and not the type likely to be rushed.
I bring this up not to be the wet blanket. I’m excited to see Dee Gordon play. I’m really excited to not see Juan Castro play. I’m just curious about the timing of all this, and how the Dodgers see themselves in the 2011 season. If you bring him up, you have to play him every day. It does no good for his development to be sitting on the bench. But if he plays every day, he’s likely to commit a ton of errors and may or may not be able to hit major league pitching. As I said in the tabled Sands piece, Kemp and Kershaw each had early struggles and were sent back down, and both were more highly touted than Gordon. If the Dodgers see themselves as a team that can win in 2011, will they suffer through the inevitable growing pains? Will they be okay with the fact that he’s almost certain to cost them a game or more with a defensive miscue? Will they really bench Juan Uribe and/or Jamey Carroll on a regular basis to let Gordon play?
We’ll have to see how this plays out to get the answers to those questions. I’ll say this about the Dodgers, however; though much of this is because of all of the injuries they’re fighting through, the 2011 edition has committed to youngsters like we haven’t seen in years. We’ll see that in full display this week against one of the NL’s top teams in Philadelphia, where Sands is starting tonight, Rubby De La Rosa goes tomorrow, and Gordon is likely to make his debut.
Welcome aboard, Dee. Can’t wait to see what you can do.
******
Not to be lost in all the furor today – as I joked on Twitter, “based on my Twitter feed of the last 2 hours, Anthony Weiner tweeted a Dee Gordon dong shot to Paul Revere” – is the creative lineup that Don Mattingly has put together tonight:
Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup: Carroll SS, Miles 2B, Thames LF, Kemp CF, Uribe 3B, Blake 1B, Sands RF, Barajas C, Lilly P
Okay, I suppose I’m not a huge fan of Thames hitting third, but look at what he’s done against one of the toughest lefties in the game, Cliff Lee. Andre Ethier, benched. James Loney, benched. Three righties in the outfield! Casey Blake at first! Whether this works or not – and don’t bet on it, since Lee has held current Dodgers to a .088/.099/.113 line in 81 PA – it’s what we’ve been calling for forever, and I love Mattingly for it. Actually, maybe that’s the answer to the “will the Dodgers play Gordon over Uribe or Carroll” question above. Put one of them at 3B, play Blake at 1B, and now you’ve got Gordon over Loney. Now we’re getting somewhere.
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I have no idea why this happened, and I kind of love it.
Comment by Maddz— June 6, 2011 #
“I noted that Matt Kemp & Clayton Kershaw had each returned to the minors,”
Huh?
Comment by MfA— June 6, 2011 #
I’ll clarify that. After they made their debuts, they each went back down before sticking for good.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Never mind, I realized you were talking about them getting sent to the minors years ago.
Comment by MfA— June 6, 2011 #
Color me stunned. I’ll have more reaction later in the week from the Topes, but right now… wow.
Comment by Chris Jackson— June 6, 2011 #
I guess this makes Justin Sellers the primary ABQ shortstop, though he’s having a terrible year at the plate.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Interesting note about Sellers: he has the worst BABIP in the organization. The poor kid has put the ball in play a lot, it just always seems to be right at people unless they’re over the fence (even in early May he had more XBHs than singles).
Comment by Chris Jackson— June 6, 2011 #
its a step in the right direction. I like it!
Comment by format— June 6, 2011 #
Today’s lineup alone is proof enough that Mattingly is 1000000000000x better as a manager than Joe Torre.
Comment by Alex— June 6, 2011 #
Definitely. I’m on board with the Mattingly era so far.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
I’m waiting for the missing persons APB for Ned Colletti. Not a Ned move at all. I feel like a stranger just offered me candy. And I could be saying that on the Gibbons move by itself. Scary, but fun!
Comment by Scott— June 6, 2011 #
Yeah. I wonder if he’s in full “screw it, I’m getting fired anyway” mode.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
thats a lot of veteran character grit leaving the team in place of youth. Are we sure Ned’s still the GM?
Comment by Peter— June 6, 2011 #
if gordon doesn’t get any playing time though this isn’t that great of a move.
Comment by hawkhandler— June 6, 2011 #
According to Dylan H, he’ll be the everyday SS. As he should be.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Really? Wow. So
Uribe – 3B
Gordon – SS
Carroll – 2B
Loney – 1B
,
Blake – 3B
Gordon – SS
Uribe – 2B
Loney – 1B
,
Uribe – 3B
Gordon – SS
Carroll – 2B
Blake – 1B
,
are the infields we’re likely to see?
Comment by Bip— June 6, 2011 #
What happens on the days Uribe is too sore – might we have
Loney – 1B
Carroll – 2B
Gordon – SS
Miles – 3B
match that with
Navarro – C
Gwynn – LF
Kemp – CF
Ethier – RF
could that be one of the lightest hitting line-ups in Dodger history?
Hope it never has to get that far.
Presuming that Dee Gordon is a singles guy, will we have him being called “slappy Dee”
to go along with
“slappy ‘e’”
“slappy Lonee”
“slappy Tonee”
I will noy go so far as “slappy Jamee” cuz he hits too well
Comment by Kirk Davenport— June 6, 2011 #
I wonder if this is not some sort of ploy to showcase talent for potential trades at the deadline?
Comment by Shane— June 6, 2011 #
Perhaps, but I doubt it. If Gordon struggles initially, as seems likely, that’s not going to improve his stock.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Besides, even if he does play well and increase his trade value, we’d be more inclined to keep him as our SS of the future.
Comment by Quid— June 6, 2011 #
Not that I expect this to happen, but let’s just say Gordon goes and lights the world on fire, just crushes it. Furcal comes back in a month. Neither can really play another position. What do you do?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
That’s easy. Wait an hour or two until Furcal heads back to the DL.
.
But seriously, you have to try to trade Furcal to a contender looking for a shortstop rental, get some prospects in return, right?
Comment by Dave— June 6, 2011 #
Ideally yeah, but you’d have to play Furcal to show he’s healthy and productive first.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Hahahahahahhahaha
Comment by crushinator— June 6, 2011 #
I’m thrilled. Let’s see what we really have. We certainly know what we didn’t have with Gibbons and Castro. I only wish we had a young catcher to call up too. The moves show some imagination and nerve which are qualities we haven’t shown in a long time. No offense to Carroll because he’s a terrific utility guy, but I couldn’t watch an infield of him and Miles much longer although apparently I’ll get to watch them again tonight.
The Dodgers are in rebuilding mode and when the deadline approaches they can continue building towards the future by offering Blake, Furcal, Kuroda and perhaps even Ethier and Lilly, if someone will take him, for prime prospects.
Comment by Denver Dodger— June 6, 2011 #
Is Ned ok?
Comment by Juan Pierre— June 6, 2011 #
Was he ever?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
hey mike you gonna have any thoughts on the Draft today?
Comment by davey lopes afro— June 6, 2011 #
Perhaps after the game, but I’m hardly a draft expert.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
I’m worried, it doesn’t look like Gordon is ready, and a player’s confidence can be very fragile.
Comment by Oz— June 6, 2011 #
The problem is that Gordon isn’t going to play everyday. If they didn’t make time for DeJesus–to see if he had anything for the majors–they are not going make time for Gordon, unless they’re prepared to bench Miles and move Carroll to 2B. And the second problem is that Gordon isn’t ready.
I would have preferred that they finally give DeJesus an extended look at 2B. I know Mike isn’t high on DeJesus, but when he did play, I saw him in the Sands-mold of no success, but good approach at the plate.
Comment by Oz— June 6, 2011 #
No, I disagree with you there. Gordon is going to play everyday, they already announced that. He’s a much higher level prospect than DeJesus.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 6, 2011 #
Yeah, they announced it, but I don’t believe them. I don’t see them being patient enough. I agree that Gordon is better than DeJesus, but they’re not competing for the same position. I like DeJesus and I wanted him to get a real look at 2B. With all that said, if the Dodgers are going to the youth movement, it’s time for you to pull out your great Trade Machine for the Dodgers yard sale. What can we get for Kuroda?
Comment by Oz— June 6, 2011 #
You can’t move Kuroda without his permission, and I have a feeling unless that trade is with the Hiroshima Carp, he’s not going anywhere.
None of the other veterans will even bring back a half-decent prospect, so you’re hoped-for-fire-sale may not materialize.
Comment by Chris Jackson— June 6, 2011 #
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