Work in Progress

Baseball, Seminary, Wrestling, and the Dreams and Days of one Mike Work's Angeles experience

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

We're seven games into the season, and I've gotta say, there's no better major league team to be a fan of than the Dodgers.

Three ninth-inning comebacks in the first week of the season, including today's home opener over the Giants, back from 8-3 in the fifth to win it.

Nerve-wracking, but fun.

posted by 1L @ 6:01 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At 12:33 PM, Blogger Tyler said…

    So, umm...do the off-season moves by the Dodgers' management still suck?

     

  • At 9:40 PM, Blogger 1L said…

    Negative on that one.

    I'll wait two months before passing verdict on Drew (he's not hitting, but is getting on base and scoring runs, part of why he's in town), and we should find out quite a bit about Choi this year. Finley staying would've been great, especially considering the deal Anaheim gave him, but that would have squeezed out Werth (or Choi), who'll be around longer than Finley would've.

    On the plus side:
    Kent over Cora/Hernandez
    Phillips/Navarro over Ross
    Lowe over Lima (who'd have been overpaid due to arbitration; Lowe's contract is big, but considering the inflated market, scarcity of pitchers entering free agency this year, the ballpark factor, and his extreme ground-ball tendencies, I can understand)

    The Green deal was a salary move, and he wasn't going to get an extension after this year. That trade did clear up the OF/1B logjam that existed after the Drew signing (again, had he stayed, someone who'd be around longer would've been squeezed out of playing time), and I like that they filled a hole by getting catchers for the short and long-term, rather than Javier Vazquez, for Green and Ishii. (Not to mention that Penny and Brazoban stay in LA; had the initial trade the Yankees wanted gone through, my tone would be much different.)

    Finally, Adrian is missed (and Valentin's name is alternately preceded with 'f'in' and 'mf'in,' depending on whether we speak of his defense or offense.) I'd prefer that Beltre have Drew's contract, but if in three years, Joel Guzman (in AA right now) is playing 3rd for a fraction of the salary the Mariners are giving Beltre, I can see what management had in mind.

    What is that? IMO, Moneyball with margin for contracts such as Lowe's when necessary due to market factors. Short-term, a team like the Yankees is stellar right now, but I don't see them having a bright future. Given the relative youth of this Dodger team, salary distribution (multiple young regulars), and the state of the farm system, high hopes beyond 2005 are reasonable.

    Short-term, the moves irked me. Long-term, i can dig things, although much is dependent on how Hee Seop Choi does (Drew as well, but I'm less worried about him). If Choi doesn't develop, the richness of the Dodger farm system may have to be tapped to acquire a first baseman at some point this year. But it's better to have that backup plan than to have a team loaded down with multiple bad contracts (Green, Brown, Dreifort, Nomo) and a lack of promising minor leaguers, which is where the Dodgers were under Malone.

     

  • At 9:40 PM, Blogger 1L said…

    Be concise, Mike, be concise...

     

  • At 10:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    once gagne gets back, my fantasy team will separate from the rest of the league! i hope its soon.

     

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