Wishful Thinking

Could this wonderful partnership/friendship be coming to an end?

 In recent news there is a long shot chance (extremely long shot, so let's not get too excited) that the Cubs may be interested in our very own Ned Colletti to fill their opening for general manager.  Because of our admiration of his work and our desire to see him succeed, we here at Proven Veteran Leaders have decided to be grown-ups about this and submit the following letter of recommendation.

Dear Tom Ricketts,

We are writing on behalf of Ned Colletti, who we believe is an ideal fit to be the general manager of your fine franchise.  He got his start in your organization and we feel that a reunion would be good for you and good for baseball.  You see, Ned’s an old-school type, a real “baseball guy.”  He’s not one of those nerds who tend to rely on things like statistics and “facts” in their evaluations of baseball players.  He relies on his own damn peepers, and looks for players with guts and a knowledge of how to win.  You might be saying to yourself: “Those sound like intangible things with no real way to measure or quantify them.”  Well first of all, that sounds like Communist talk to us.  Second of all, and this really is the greatest thing about Ned Colletti.  There is a way to quantify intangibles, and Ned Colletti is the only one who can do it!  That’s right, he has figured out a way to measure the immeasurable, calculate the incalculable, tangabilize  the intangible. 

                It’s because of this we feel Ned Colletti would be a great leader for your organization.  In addition, he likes the same gritty white players the Cubs seem to enjoy.  We’ve employed both Ryan Theriot and Aaron Miles in the past two seasons.  Of course, you know all about Ryan Theriot as you traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Blake Dewitt.  What’s that you’re saying?  Blake Dewitt is not nearly scrappy enough, or white enough, for you?  Well, then rest easy.  Ned Colletti will trade him for the most valuable asset in the game of baseball.  That’s right, middle relief. 

                Now you might be wondering why we’d be so eager to rid ourselves of such a great leader.  Well, the thing is, as you may have heard the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a built of a pickle with their ownership.  See, with Frank McCourt at the helm, the Dodgers won’t be able to afford to go after the top tier free agents, or middle-tier for that matter, so we feel Ned’s gifts of overpaying for marginal talent would best be put to use where there might be money for him to waste, pardon, invest.  What the Dodgers will do, is just give a young guy like Logan White a chance to build a cheap team.  Dodger fans everywhere are willing to make this sacrifice for you.  Plus, Ned Colletti already has an awesome Chicago ‘stache.  Hell, if Saturday Night Live ever brings back the “Da Bears” sketch, he could fill the late Chris Farley’s role no problem.  That kind of ‘stache just can’t be bought. 

Sincerely,

Proven Veteran Leaders

And in other news, Kenley Jansen has been activated with Josh Lindblom sent back down to aaa to make room.  Don't worry, Lindblom fans.  He should be up as soon as rosters expand on September 1st.  Also, it looks like Dee Gordon should be back by Saturday.  Let's just hope this means that Eugenio Velez can continue his pursuit of a hitless season in another uniform rather than Justin Sellers getting sent down.  

Depressed Dodgers taking frustrations out on themselves

We apologize for the lack of posts lately, but we're still stinging from Wednesday's loss.  Not only did the Dodgers blow a six run lead and ended up losing 9-8, but they lost Dee Gordon to the disabled list.  Nothing seems to be going right for the Dodgers this season.  I think we can all agree that Ned Colletti is a terrible GM and Frank McCourt is the incarnate of Lucifer himself but, believe it or  not, there are more reasons then just those two why the Dodgers find themselves just one game out of last place in the National League West.
One of those things is luck.  I believe the last time I checked the Dodgers, at one time or another in the season, have placed 974 players on the disabled list.  But that's just an estimate on my part, really.  Some of these guys we knew would spend some time on the DL, like Blake and Furcal, and some guys were pretty likely, such as Uribe (because he's old and fat).  But then there's the young guys too.  Broxton, Kuo, Hawksworth, Jansen, De La Rosa, and now, Dee Gordon.  This is just getting ridiculous.  The Dodgers infield now consists of Loney at first (owner of the worst OPS in baseball since the all-star break),  the hitless wonder Eugenio Velez at second, solid-but-bug-eyed Jamey Carroll at short, and Aaron Miles, on loan from a Tolkien novel, at third.  Other than Loney, none of those guys were expected to be regular contributors, or, in Miles and Velez's case, probably not even on the 25 man roster.  This team is clearly snake-bitten with injuries, and though we wrote this season off long ago, it's still a bummer to have the one joy left taken from us, and that is watching a guy like Dee Gordon get a chance to show he can handle the Major Leagues. 

Now, I should add that since Dee Gordon is hurt, it's a good thing that he's going to the disabled list.  That doesn't sound terribly insightful, but too often we see players trying to keep injuries secret and play through them, hurting themselves and the team (I'm looking at you Jonathan Broxton).  With the Dodgers as bad as they are, there is no reason to risk Dee Gordon's long term health by trotting him out there.  This was a good call by the Dodgers, even though they are calling it mostly precautionary.  The hope is that Dee will take the 15 days, get healthy, and then come back and play every day for the rest of the season.  This should still give the team plenty of time to properly evaluate whether or not he's ready to handle the starting job next season. 

In other news, the Dodgers agreed to terms with their first round draft pick, Chris Reed,  and he will be introduced at Dodger Stadium tonight.  He signed for what appears to be a 1.589 signing bonus, which is slightly above slot.  I gotta say, it's nice to see the Dodgers going over slot to get talent.  Last year they did it to get Zach Lee, this year for Reed.  I sort of wonder if McCourt authorized it just to piss Bud Selig off, but either way we'll take it.

Update:  It appears the Dodgers called up shortstop Justin Sellers from Albuquerque to take Gordon's place on the roster.  Sellers doesn't exactly quality as a prospect, as he's 25 years old with a career .746 OPS in the minors, but at least there's some upside there.  Here's hoping he'll get more playing time than Eugenio Velez.

Things we learned from last night's game (8/9/11)

Ted Lilly?  He throws like a girl.

Overview: Lilly strong, Cliff Lee stronger.  Dodgers lose, 2-1.

Pros:  Ted Lilly gave up a home run to Cliff Lee, but was otherwise very solid.  He pitched 8 innings, giving up only 6 hits and a walk against a team with All-Stars starting at six of the eight positions.  It was the deepest Lilly has gone in a game for the Dodgers this season, and a well-earned quality start from a guy we've been pretty hard on this year.  Blake Hawksworth pitched a shutout ninth and has quietly gotten his ERA under three. Considering the Dodgers got him for the moldering corpse of Ryan Theriot, he has to go down as one of Ned Colletti's best trades. Casey Blake deserves some love too, following up Monday's two hit, two walk game with another 2 for 4.  He's gotten his average up almost twenty points in the last week- maybe he's playing his way into a waiver deal?

Cons:  It's hard to knock the offense for getting shut out by Cliff Lee, so the big story here is Dee Gordon.  He re-injured his right shoulder and had to leave mid at-bat, and is at the doctor's office getting an MRI as I type this.  As we've said before, any kind of injury to Dee is disasterous, and if this turns into a lingering issue for the rest of the season, the Dodgers are in serious trouble.  Here's hoping a cortisone injection and a couple of days off heal the kid.

What we learned:  The Dodgers have lost to the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee by a combined three runs.  A loss is a loss is a loss, of course, but they've played hard and have been in both games until the final out.  It's nice to see the team fighting against the no-doubt best team in the NL, and it makes you wonder how the season would have gone had this group gelled earlier in the season. 

Photos from last night's game

In lieu of a full recap of last night's rough loss (James Loney is not my favorite person today), I have instead compiled a series of photos from the game.  These were taken on a cheap camera from long distances, so it's full of blurry figures and disappointment, much like me at the bottom of a bottle of scotch.

No, I can't rotate the photo.  I don't know why.  

This gentleman was VERY friendly and genial.  I think it's because I could smell the paint fumes from where I was, several feet away.  He must have been SUPER high.  That's probably the best job in the stadium.

Can't rotate this either.  Or the one after that.  I promise it gets better.

I won these tickets off the Dodgers twitter account last week- in honor of their hitting 65,000 followers, they gave out tickets to the first 65 people that messaged them with their email.  The seats were actually very good, and the guy that emailed me from the Dodgers PR department couldn't have been nicer.  It was really great of the team to reach out to fans like that.  Color me impressed.

Last bad one.  Sorry.  

Here's Don Mattingly, shagging flies in the outfield during batting practice.  I wonder if he's getting into game shape so he can activate himself and DFA Loney.  Also spotted during batting practice: Juan Uribe hitting in the cage, and Jonathan Broxton working out and doing sprints in the outfield.  Here's hoping we see Broxton again at some point this year- I know it's been an up and down few years with him, but I'd like to see him throw a couple of 100 mph fastballs one more time before he goes away at the end of the season.

See?  Now they're fine.  It doesn't make any sense to me either.

Meet 'The Big Cheese'.  Purchased at the field level CPK for $16.00, it's a huge piece of cheesy focaccia bread with marinara and ranch.  It made me very sick.  Sadly, Campy's Corner (home of the Victory Knot) was closed, so we were forced to get this instead.  Interestingly, several of the field level food options were closed.  Trying to save a few dollars in payroll, I guess?  

This guy must be really strong.

You see the kid sitting on the end of the bleacher, wearing the backwards white hat?  Every time a ball was hit to a player anywhere near him during batting practice, he would scream in a high pitched voice.  He wouldn't scream the player's name, or ask for the ball, or anything useful.  He'd just scream.  It was excruciating.  I really hope those girls standing to the left made fun of him.  He deserved it.

I don't think he understands what 'Winning' actually means.

This guy was sitting a few rows down in the padded seats.  You can't really tell in the photo, but he's got a faux-hawk.  Look, Major League is one of my all time favorite films.  And I have to assume he got the jersey before we all knew what Charlie Sheen really meant.  But it's the Phillies vs. the Dodgers.  However, I have now decided I won't rest until I get a Roger Dorn jersey, so I guess it all worked out.

Trent Oeltjen's favorite movie is Happy Gilmore.

Apparently Trent Oeltjen gets paid in really big checks.  Maybe it's a clause in his contract.  Maybe that's how it's always done in Australia.  What am I, psychic?

Dee Gordon could FIT INSIDE HIM.

Dee Gordon and Tony Gwynn Jr. sharing a laugh with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.  I'd like to point out that no one approached Shane Victorino and hugged him during warmups.  That's because everyone in baseball  knows that if any of his goblin blood gets on them, they'll be turned as well.  Must be hell in the Phillies locker room.

Yes, there were catcalls.

Ah, rookie hazing.  Fraternities may frown on it, but it's still okay in baseball.  Of course, I can't feel too bad for him, as he's most likely already a millionaire.

Sweep the leg, Rod!

Is it wrong that I was hoping Kuroda hit him?  Just to see what would happen?

I tried to get a pic of him throwing.  I'm not a very good sports photographer, as it turns out.

Dee!  He entered the game in a double switch in the 7th, and showed no ill effects from the shoulder injury.  His throws looked crisp, and it didn't seem to affect him at the plate.  Some small comfort, at least.

Juan Rivera, getting back in shape for the NFL preseason.

This picture came immediately after Rivera did his best middle linebacker impression in the 8th inning, mowing down Chase Utley at full speed.  I could hear the impact from my seat, and it was pretty awesome.  I can't imagine Utley felt good this morning.  Unfortunately, Rivera was called out for interference, and it played a big part in killing our rally and chances at tying the score.

Even when he misses, it's pretty.

Last pic- this was Kemp's swing and miss for strike three in the 9th.  Even though it was only the second out of the inning, pretty much everyone left in the stadium knew the game was over.

It was a brutal loss, to be sure- Loney's second inning error cost the team two runs that may have been all the difference, and Victorino's 9th inning tater off of Mike MacDougal was an especially bitter pill to swallow.  Overall though, we had a great night at the ballpark.  Thanks again to the fine PR staff of the Dodgers for allowing us to see it.

What we learned from Tuesday's game (8/2/11)

Kuroda in 1914, the last time the Dodgers provided him with any run support.

Overview: Hiroki Kuroda learns what it takes to get a win.  Kemp does more great stuff.  Dodgers win, 1-0.

Pros: Fun fact- five of Hiroki Kuroda's seven wins have come via shutout.  Look, I think we were all a little disappointed when Kuroda invoked his no trade clause prior to the trade deadline, especially when it came out that the horrifying deadline trade of Trayvon Robinson (he's wearing a Tacoma Rainiers jersey in that link, which I guess means that whole thing wasn't a nightmare I had while laid up with a strained ligament and hopped up on my mother-in-law's arthritis meds) was kind of his fault.  But it's hard to be angry with him when he's pitching shutouts.  Matt Kemp shockingly provided the only offense for the Dodgers by knocking in Dee Gordon in the fourth inning.  Javy Guerra nailed down his ninth save- and yes, saves are overrated, and yes, Javy Guerra is probably not a great choice to be our closer long term, but dammit, he's a rookie who's been a bright spot this season, and I'm happy for his success.

Cons:  Outside of Gordon (2 for 4! get ready for your Profile in Courage, Dee!) and Kemp, no Dodger reached base more than once.  Also, they didn't work a single walk.  Mat Latos is a solid pitcher, but damn.  That's kind of embarrassing.  Good thing our new hitting coach has fixed everything.

What we learned:  Same story, different day.  If teams ever learn how to pitch around Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are screwed.  One interesting thing to note- Andre Ethier sat, with Rivera getting the start in RF.  Mattingly said he was frustrated after a tough game Monday and needed a breather.  But it certainly sounds like the frustration runs a little deeper than that- Roberto Baly of Vin Scully is My Homeboy had some first hand contact with just how frustrated Ethier is/was.  Sounds like those of us hoping to lock up Ethier long term might be out of luck...

UPDATED: The End of the Rafael Fucal Era

Um, yeah.  About that...

UPDATE: Dodgers receive Alex Castellanos, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Castellanos, a 10th round pick in the 2008 draft, is having a pretty good season in AA this year, hitting .319/.379/.562/.941 overall, but is already 24 (25 next week- happy birthday, Alex) and has 94 strikeouts in 391 ABs so far this year.  He looks to be primarily a RF, but has played 17 games in CF this season, and has played 1B, 2B, 3B, and all 3 OF positions in his minor league career.  He even has 1 game at SS in 2008, where he apparently made 2 errors.  Overall, he looks to be a little better than a typical depth guy, as his power and speed both look solid, but he needs to cut down his K rate before he'll have a shot at moving forward in the organization.

Details are still coming in,  but it appears all but certain that Rafael Furcal is about to join the St. Louis Cardinals, pending his approval as a 10-and-5 player.  It's certainly bittersweet seeing Furcal go- as everyone with even a passing knowledge of Dodger baseball knows, when healthy Furcal had the ability to be one of the most dominating players in all of baseball.  Unfortunately for him and the Dodgers, those healthy periods were rare, increasingly so in the last few years.

We still don't know what the Dodgers are getting in return for Furcal.  Reports say that cash is going along with Furcal in the deal, so it doesn't sound like a straight salary dump, but odds are the return for him won't be much more than a fringe-y prospect.  It also sounds like this trade closes the door on any trade for Jamey Carroll that may have been in the works, as the Dodgers have stated previously that they were open to trading one, but not both, of the players.

Truthfully, while it's a little sad to see Raffy go, this is the best possible situation for all involved.  It's thankfully clear now that Colletti doesn't see the Dodgers' recent mini-hot streak as a sign that they can compete in the division/wild card race and isn't going to make any ill-advised trades for more PVLs (as much as our blog title wishes it were so).  Dee Gordon should be boarding a plane bound for LAX any minute now, adding- at the very least- some much needed fun to the final two months of the season.  Rafael Furcal gets to go play meaningful games every day and attempt to rebuild a little value going into a very uncertain free agency.  And while the Dodgers are sending cash along in the deal, it will save a little payroll space in the grand scheme of things, maybe (?) giving a little more flexibility in the offseason to fill some of the gaping holes at pretty much any infield position.

Plus, we can all cross our fingers that  maybe Colletti got The Riot back in return.