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Pedro Back to Dodgers?

February 6, 2009 By

Jon Heyman over at SI.com has an interesting column on this topic.  I also caught his interview on Colin Cowherd’s show this morning on ESPN Radio and the logic makes sense: the Dodgers need a fifth starter and at least one veteran mentor for the young staff.  I don’t know about you, but I’m a little nervous that all isn’t going well with the Randy Wolf negotiations…why hasn’t Ned locked this guy down yet?

Plus, it would be a nice homecoming with Pedro coming homw to finish his career at Dodger Stadium.

This all assuming that the guy has enough gas in the tank to be effective.  When agents make comments like “He feels the best he’s ever felt” I get a little nervous.  Still the World Baseball Classic will be a great exhibition for Pedro and who knows, maybe we’ll see him pitch here in LA in the semis or the finals.

What do you think?  Should Ned sign Pedro Martinez?  The longer the negotiations take with Wolf and Looper, the more I’m leaning towards yes (with a one year deal, of course).

Filed Under: Dodgers Offseason, dodgers pitching Tagged With:

The Chronicles of Manny, Chapter Five

February 3, 2009 By

So as fast as I could type the news of the Dodgers’ one-year, $25 million offer to Manny Ramirez, it was rejected by agent Scott Boras.

According to Dylan Hernandez at the Los Angeles Times, the club will still be negotiating with Ramirez and Boras (as they should be).  Both parties need each other here, and with the amount of salary coming off the books at the end of last season, the Dodgers have the cash to make a two to three-year offer to Manny that should appease both sides.  Anything longer than three years is foolhardy, and if that’s the case I would love to see the Dodgers turn their attention to Adam Dunn.

Now we wait and see what the next chapter in the “The Chronicles of Manny” have in store…

Filed Under: Dodger Hitting, Dodgers Offseason, Manny Ramirez Tagged With: ,

The Chronicles of Manny, Chapter Four

February 2, 2009 By

One year, $25 million.  That’s the latest offer that was received tonight, according to Dylan Hernandez.

It’s an interesting offer with Ned going high on salary, but super short on years.  I actually like this offer, primarily because it keeps Manny honest – if he accepts, he’ll have to play hard throughout the contract to prove to potential suitors next year that he’s worth the money and 4-5 years that Boras is asking for.  It’s also good for Manny, as if he feels the multi-year offers are too low he can save face by taking the Dodgers’ offer.  It’s not likely that other clubs can match or beat this, as I don’t think anyone else has the kind of cash on hand that the Dodgers do.

Now do I think he’ll actually take this deal?  Not anytime soon.  Manny isn’t known to be a fan of Spring Training, and any excuse to prolong this in the hopes of dragging in more offers seems somewhat likely.  This then begs the question of how long the Dodgers will wait for Manny, as they certainly don’t want to lose out on Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn.

Only time will tell…

Filed Under: Dodger Hitting, Dodgers Offseason, Manny Ramirez

Are the Dodgers Hungry Like the Wolf?

January 23, 2009 By

Sorry, couldn’t resist an ’80′s Duran Duran reference.  So it looks like Ned is zeroing in on lefty Randy Wolf.  As MLB.com reports, last year Wolf had 33 starts, going 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA.  When Randy pitched for the Dodgers in 2007 he started 18 games and was 9-6 with a 4.73 ERA. 

My take is that Wolf is a solid #3 starter.  Nothing really to get excited about here, given that on average he made it through 5.7 innings last year, but there aren’t that many left-handers left out there and Randy has proven to be a productive starter when healthy.

Filed Under: Dodger Trade Rumors, Dodgers Offseason, dodgers pitching Tagged With:

The Real Jeff Kent Shows Himself to the Media and Fans

January 22, 2009 By

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent announces his retirement ...

Now I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting out of Jeff Kent today, but the emotion that came out of the future HOFer as he fought back tears was pretty surprising.  Imagine the kind of clubhouse force the guy could have been if he had let his guard down like this amongst his teammates.  From Plashke’s column in tomorrow’s paper:

So there was a heart in there after all.
Saying hello just in time to say goodbye.
“I hope it’s not a bad thing,” he said of his emotion.
It’s a sad thing, knowing now that he could have perhaps used some of this passion to have more impact as a leader.  It’s a frustrating thing, to think of all those years that teammates and fans never really knew him.
But, in the end, perhaps, it’s an understandable thing, a man doing what he felt was necessary to stay tough in a game where six months of nightly public pressures can tear at even the strongest of souls.
“Jeff felt when he let his guard down, he lost his edge,” said his wife, Dana.
On Thursday, after 351 career homers, most ever for a second baseman, that guard came down.

I hope KLAC-AM pulls up some of the Jeff Kent imterviews from the old Simers/Rogan morning show during the Dodgers offseason.  I swear that was the only time (other than today) that you heard the “real” Jeff Kent come out.

Now the real question is whether the baseball writers penalize him for being such a pain in the ass all of these years.  I certainly hope not; in my mind, Jeff Kent is a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Filed Under: Dodgers Offseason Tagged With:
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