Tagged: Free Agents
Is Sabathia the New Vlad?
If the Dodgers… Ned Colletti in particular
(i.e. the Human ****)… let Sabathia go to the Angels, it
will be deja-vu all over again. Last time we idly sat back
and let the top free agent on the market (Vlad Guerrero) go
elsewhere (who just happened to want to sign with the
Dodgers) the team was up for sale and the front office was
virtually non-existent. This time there’s no excuse… of
course, other than the front office being non-existent. The
team is not for sale this year so the Ned Colletti’s of the
world will have absolutely no excuse whatsoever if they
sleep on Sabathia. Face it, the Dodgers thought Sabathia was
going to take a hometown discount to come play here but now
that the Angels have entered the fray… and are claiming
they will come close to Yankee money… the Dodgers cannot
lowball him with a half-*** offer. If the Dodgers want him…
which they should considering he’s by far the best pitcher on
the market and our de-facto ace, Chad Billingsley, just broke
his leg… they are going to have to play by the same rules
as everyone else. Ned can’t go cheap on Sabathia just because
he screwed up on signing Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Jason
Schmidt, Nomar, etc… He’s going to have to open up the
checkbook, match the Yankees offer (or come close to it) and
make CC Sabathia the top paid pitcher in all of baseball if
he wants him in Dodger blue next
season.
Dodgers Overrating Blake
Plain and simple, the Dodgers are vastly overrating veteran 3B, Casey Blake, who they acquired at the trade deadline from the Cleveland Indians last season. The prospect we gave up for Blake, catcher Carlos Santana, is now considered by many (including Baseball America) to be the Indians top prospect, over Matt LaPorta (who they got for CC Sabathia). Why would the Dodgers give up such a great prospect for a lame-fielding, light-hitting, below average OBP guy; a player that would cost most teams a C or B level prospect at best? Because the Dodgers were strapped for cash and needed the Tribe to cover Blake’s salary. So what we have here is a team totally overrating an average player and giving away a future star to get him.
Top 50 Free Agents
Top Free Agents
To CC or Not to CC
Word on the street is super-pitcher, CC Sabathia, has his sights set on signing with the Dodgers. He has indicated that he wants to remain in the National League and has begun construction on a new house near Los Angeles. I’d take that to mean he either expects to sign with the Dodgers or the Padres… and considering the Padres’ current situation… that means the Dodgers.
Top MLB Free Agents
Catchers
Lopez in Lieu of Furcal?
Not long after the trade deadline had passed, Nationals’ GM Jim Bowden gave C/1B/OF, Paul Lo Duca and 2B/SS, Felipe Lopez their walking papers. As many Dodger fans know, Lo Duca was an all-star not too long ago and Lopez really wasn’t all that far behind in terms of talent. Obviously, the Dodgers don’t have a need for Lo Duca (and even if they did, I highly doubt they’d turn to him after the way his production has declined and the way his name’s been dragged thru the mud the last couple of years) but they do have a need for a shortstop due to the near season-ending injury suffered by star shortstop, Rafael Furcal. By no means is Lopez a long-term answer at shortstop… he’s not even a guarantee to hit at all but could be worth taking a chance on if the price is right (because even if he doesn’t pan out, he’d be a nice option to have waiting in the minors). He’s really only had one good (or great) season and pretty much fell off the map after that but he was always viewed as a player with big potential and could find his form in a new setting. To give you a glimpse of what he is capable of…take a look at his numbers in ’05: