New Dodgers For The 21st Century
It was a busy winter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Owner Frank McCourt cleaned his management house, firing manager Jim Tracey and GM Paul DePodesta. The firings had less to do with their records as they were cave-ins to Ghost of Dodgers past Tommy LaSorda and loudmouthed morons in the L.A. media, who had alergic reactions to DePodesta's evil Moneyball ways, and never forgave him for his trade of a popular and mediocre veteran leader in 2004.
To replace Tracy, the Dodgers hired one of the last people I ever expected to see back in a major league dugout, Grady (To Pull Pedro, Or Not to Pull Pedro) Little. They came back with another surprise when filling the GM's office, raiding arch-rival San Francisco for their assistant GM, Ned Colleti.
The Giants are infamous in recent years for an overreliance on veterans and wanting little to do with young players, so it shouldn't have been any surprise that once Colleti was settled into his chair, the gates were opened and the graybeards entered. The offseason has seen the signings or trade acquistions of the following: Rafael Furcal, Sandy Alomar Jr., Bill Mueller, Nomar Garciaparra, Kenny Lofton, Bret Tomko, Danys Baez, and Lance Carter. Sandy Alomar Jr.? Are you kidding me?
The win-with-veterans approach is justifiable this year, with the division up for grabs, but in about another year Colleti's openness to young players is going to be really challenged, because the Dodger farm system is loaded. I've been skeptical for years about the overhyped prospects the Dodgers and the media tout, but this new crop looks like the real deal. Will they be allowed to work into spots in the Dodger lineup, or will they be sent packing to other organizations to make way for more veterans? Time will tell.
Projected 2006 Lineup:
CF Kenny Lofton
SS Rafael Furcal
1B Nomar Garciaparra
2B Jeff Kent
RF J.D. Drew
3B Bill Mueller
LF Jose Cruz/Jason Werth
C Dioner Navarro
Hee Sop Choi, Rickey Ledee, Olmedo Saenz, and Cesar Izturis provide depth, which the Dodgers will need based on the age and injury history of the regulars. If and when this group is actually on the field together, it's not a bad lineup compared to the rest of the NL West. The key factors will be health and how Colleti fills the holes that will inevitably open up by players falling and not getting up.
Projected 2006 Starting Rotation and Bullpen
SP Derek Lowe
SP Odalis Perez
SP Brad Penny
SP Brett Tomko
SP Jae Seo
CL Eric Gagne
RP Danys Baez
RP Lance Carter
RP Yhency Brazoban
RP Kelly Wunsch
Gagne's status isa major issue here. Colleti did provide a fallback plan by picking up Baez and Carter from the Devil Rays; the cost being tarnished prospects Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany. Seo, obtained from the Mets for Duaner Sanchez, is a major steal for Colleti; he was actually the Mets' second-best starter last year and could move to the top of the rotation here.
Somewhat grudgingly, since I despise the franchise, I would make the Dodgers the favorites to capture the NL West title this year. More frighteningly, I can see them slugging it out with the Diamondbacks for the next decade, not only for supremacy in the West but for the entire National League.
To replace Tracy, the Dodgers hired one of the last people I ever expected to see back in a major league dugout, Grady (To Pull Pedro, Or Not to Pull Pedro) Little. They came back with another surprise when filling the GM's office, raiding arch-rival San Francisco for their assistant GM, Ned Colleti.
The Giants are infamous in recent years for an overreliance on veterans and wanting little to do with young players, so it shouldn't have been any surprise that once Colleti was settled into his chair, the gates were opened and the graybeards entered. The offseason has seen the signings or trade acquistions of the following: Rafael Furcal, Sandy Alomar Jr., Bill Mueller, Nomar Garciaparra, Kenny Lofton, Bret Tomko, Danys Baez, and Lance Carter. Sandy Alomar Jr.? Are you kidding me?
The win-with-veterans approach is justifiable this year, with the division up for grabs, but in about another year Colleti's openness to young players is going to be really challenged, because the Dodger farm system is loaded. I've been skeptical for years about the overhyped prospects the Dodgers and the media tout, but this new crop looks like the real deal. Will they be allowed to work into spots in the Dodger lineup, or will they be sent packing to other organizations to make way for more veterans? Time will tell.
Projected 2006 Lineup:
CF Kenny Lofton
SS Rafael Furcal
1B Nomar Garciaparra
2B Jeff Kent
RF J.D. Drew
3B Bill Mueller
LF Jose Cruz/Jason Werth
C Dioner Navarro
Hee Sop Choi, Rickey Ledee, Olmedo Saenz, and Cesar Izturis provide depth, which the Dodgers will need based on the age and injury history of the regulars. If and when this group is actually on the field together, it's not a bad lineup compared to the rest of the NL West. The key factors will be health and how Colleti fills the holes that will inevitably open up by players falling and not getting up.
Projected 2006 Starting Rotation and Bullpen
SP Derek Lowe
SP Odalis Perez
SP Brad Penny
SP Brett Tomko
SP Jae Seo
CL Eric Gagne
RP Danys Baez
RP Lance Carter
RP Yhency Brazoban
RP Kelly Wunsch
Gagne's status isa major issue here. Colleti did provide a fallback plan by picking up Baez and Carter from the Devil Rays; the cost being tarnished prospects Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany. Seo, obtained from the Mets for Duaner Sanchez, is a major steal for Colleti; he was actually the Mets' second-best starter last year and could move to the top of the rotation here.
Somewhat grudgingly, since I despise the franchise, I would make the Dodgers the favorites to capture the NL West title this year. More frighteningly, I can see them slugging it out with the Diamondbacks for the next decade, not only for supremacy in the West but for the entire National League.
posted by Jim at
3:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home