Official 2014 Offseason Thread

[Neddy]

also.

the this new kid from Cuba...do we have any reason to expect his hit tool to come around?
If we don't, we have a guy in our system who can play an awesome short and not hit in Sellers.
i literally don't mind having a sorry hitting Stephen Drew type SS....I think id want Ellis to get on base like he did in previous years. But I can't have his poor output last year batting 7th and then a sorry hitting SS 8th and then the pitcher.

i want to flip Joc Pederson for a player that makes us better.
this franchise isn't going to trade any of our outfielders and they can't.

Joc and Zach Lee for Brandon Beachy....i dunno.
just someone that makes us better.

who knows, but i think his defensive abilities make him a perennial gold glove, that even if he bats .220 / .300 / .330 for the rest of his career, it could be worth it.

we can't quite trade outfielders yet in my mind because we have no idea what Kemp is going to be. if he becomes 2011 bison again and proves he can stay healthy,( which i cannot picture ever) andre will be the one to go along with joc. if Kemp shows sign of life but the front office is unsure of his future(which i think is the case and they are trying to sell him high), they will move Kemp and groom joc to be our next CF while andre mans the position until joc can be an everyday player.

or Stan and Co. has something completely different up their sleeves. but doubt they will move anyone from the farm unless there is a clear improvement on its way.

[Quake Griffin]

oh God.

Potential platoon between Dee and ALex Guerrero.

stability please.
the St. Louis Cardinals have moving parts going in and out this winter....but their infield is solved.

[Quake Griffin]

Do you know what was wrong with Jose Dominguez and why we never brought him back last year?


Him and Withrow throw gas.
him, withrow and WIlson could blow lineups away and Jansen could finish them off.
smh

[Neddy]

Do you know what was wrong with Jose Dominguez and why we never brought him back last year?


Him and Withrow throw gas.
him, withrow and WIlson could blow lineups away and Jansen could finish them off.
smh

quad strain.

[Neddy]

oh God.

Potential platoon between Dee and ALex Guerrero.

stability please.
the St. Louis Cardinals have moving parts going in and out this winter....but their infield is solved.

i think the bench will be Van Slyke, Dee, Turner, Fed, and Figgins. if that is the bench while Kemp is still on DL, then we'd better hope that Dee is the platoon partner and not Figgins or Turner. neither can hit for **** and have no upside. Dee can at least bring 1 tool and have upside.

but i doubt it. Alex should win the everyday job out of spring training. no matter what's been said about Guerrero's lack of time at 2nd, SS's in history has time and time again converted successfully to play that other side of the middle infield just fine.

[Quake Griffin]

Do you know what was wrong with Jose Dominguez and why we never brought him back last year?


Him and Withrow throw gas.
him, withrow and WIlson could blow lineups away and Jansen could finish them off.
smh

quad strain.

yea but he could have made it back from that right?
i can't imagine a quad strain was that devastating to him.


i want this kid in our bullpen.
i want that same gas St. Louis blew us away with in Game 2.

[Neddy]

well he is a fireballer, but due to the dumbs contracts given out by Ned, mostly Brandon League, we have guaranteed contracts to fill every spot in the bullpen.

1. Jensen
2. Wilson
3. Howell
4. Perez
5. Maholm
6. Wright
7. League

guys who will most likely start in minors are

Chris Withrow
Paco Rodridguez
Jose Dominguez
Scott Elbert
Chris Reed
Yimi Garcia
Onelki Garcia

all top 3 guys deserve the bullpen spot over the last 3 guys who will make the pen.

of course, if Beckett's arm falls off before the season starts, that would push Maholm into the rotation and one of the 3 guys will make the team, which will certainly be Paco as we would need 2 lefties out of pen.

frankly, the second set of 7 pitchers could be a quality pen for somebody else.

[Quake Griffin]

Just wanna let you know that Keith Law ranked Julio Urias over Tajuan Walker.

http://www.faketeams.com/2014/2/1/53601 ... and-others
Julio Urias at #14:

He has four pitches now, with a fastball up to 95 mph and a plus curveball, but stood out more for his feel for pitching, carving low Class A hitters up with his full assortment and by locating his fastball around the zone
Law ranked Urias ahead of Taijuan Walker, Eddie Butler, Lucas Giolito, Kevin Gausman, Noah Syndergaard and Jameson Taillon, just to name a few. Wow. I have to think he is highest on Urias amongst all other prospect experts in the industry. I have to say I was shocked with that ranking, but he did dominate Low A at the age of 16, striking out 67 and walking 16 in 54.1 innings. I see the Dodgers stretching him out to 5-6 innings per start in 2014, to see how he fares going through lineups 2-3 times per start.

And Tampa wanted to deal with Seattle cuz they had Tajuan and we didn't.
I get it...Walker is more major league ready.
but we have the mexican Kershaw? PBBBBFFFTTT...this kid could get called up at 18/19.
can u imagine how nuts that would be for Dodger Baseball? The whole city would rally behind him.

[Quake Griffin]

Erisbel signed.

Goodnight sweet Hanley after this season.
sincerely hope he doesnt dog it this year cuz he wants a deal.

[Neddy]

yeah i am high on Urias as well. i think his ceiling is far higher than most prospects we have. hope we don't ruin his elbow before the call up.

as for Hanley, i would much rather prefer the dodgers trade out two of the four outfielders not named Puig, and move Hanley out to left field. if he is adamant about not moving, then let him go after this season. i can't see how a injury prone defensive liability player like him will look as he ages through the years, although he is right now the best offensive shortstop in the game.

Corey ---- Erisbel ------ XXXX------Gonzo

that will be a one heck of a defensive infield. only if Guerrero could be an average fielder there as he hits as expected......

I guess the wild card here is that if Alex Guerrero can't field the second and fails to hit in the states, Donny and Ned possibly would consider moving Hanley to second?

[Quake Griffin]

yeah i am high on Urias as well. i think his ceiling is far higher than most prospects we have. hope we don't ruin his elbow before the call up.

as for Hanley, i would much rather prefer the dodgers trade out two of the four outfielders not named Puig, and move Hanley out to left field. if he is adamant about not moving, then let him go after this season. i can't see how a injury prone defensive liability player like him will look as he ages through the years, although he is right now the best offensive shortstop in the game.

Corey ---- Erisbel ------ XXXX------Gonzo

that will be a one heck of a defensive infield. only if Guerrero could be an average fielder there as he hits as expected......

I guess the wild card here is that if Alex Guerrero can't field the second and fails to hit in the states, Donny and Ned possibly would consider moving Hanley to second?

I'm all for that with Hanley.

give him a day or 2 where it's necessary. He can play a meh left field and crush the ball for us ala Matt Holliday.

I'm trying to have faith in my man Guerrero....but I didn't think there would be this many difficulties getting him adjusted. At least Puig had time in the minors to get himself ready and back in the flow of playing baseball. This kid is essentially getting thrown into the fire and told to perform....on both sides of the ball as well.

even worse....he's had injuries to his hammie over the winter. Who knows if this kid is going 100%?

btw, that sounds like a great infield btw if Guerrero can lock it up...or if Dee can cover it.
we'll see in due time.

[Neddy]

wouldn't be the worst idea to keep both Arruebarruena and Guerrero in the minors together to grow as a double play tandem for the future, and give a chance to Dee Gordon to see if he can win the job outright, or at least make himself a decent trade bait.

[Quake Griffin]

http://m.mlb.com/video/v31381469/mattin ... ield-depth

i kinda understand Donnie putting him at lead off.
not ideal...but it makes sense.

[Neddy]

Im sorry but Donny is so full of ****.

first of all, that "he hasn't proven to be a RBI guy" bothers me to no end. puig had 382 at bats last season, and among that, batting first 102 at bats behind a pitcher or leading off. there aren't any runners on base to drive them in!!!!!! and yet he registered 18 RBIs and 8 Hrs. you punch in a full season numbers, lets say compare to Brandon Phillips who had 606 at bats last season, as a leadoff man Puig would have had more than 100 RBIs and 40+ HRs. RBI has a lot more to do with where in the lineup you are batting than being a "proven RBI guy".

secondly, the real reason why he should bat lead off is because his On Base Percentage is .391. no other argument needed.

lastly, Puig is weighing around 250. batting leadoff, he will have a mental pressure to try hard to steal bases. that is a recipe for an injury. we should bat him second instead, where he will have chances to bat with somebody on base, to drive them in by using his damn good SLG% or get himself on bases while moving others forward to set the table for Ramirez-Gonzalez coming up. i don't want to see Puig trying to be Ricky Henderson. we need him to be Yasiel Puig.

[Quake Griffin]

didn't we scout him as a 6'3" 245 guy?

now that he's 250 its bothersome because he ended the year at 225?
I expect him to be in the 230s by opening day....im not THAT concerned about his weight especially since he's a young guy.


but ur right...hoping this wont result in a hammy.

[Neddy]

it looks like with the supposed injury to Greinke, he won't be pitching in Sydney. the dodger FO already have said they want to limit Kershaw's innings this year and won't be pitching down under either.

so... who to start the season openers? Ryu is probably one, but who pitches the other game? Haren? Maholm, or Beckett?

[Quake Griffin]

I'm such a slow poke I thought we were going to Australia for ST.
took me a minute to realize this was 2 RS games with a week off after.


and yes, this is stupid and annoying..
but we need to view this as a chance to get 2 games from AZ that would be in their home ballpark.

anywho...watched Alex Guerrero at bat today since they were playing the Brewers and on out here.
hes a work in progress.
glad Young Joc hit an opposite field homer 2 days ago.

yea...that's it thus far.

[Quake Griffin]

goodnight sweet Justin Sellers.

Arrabuena made u unnecessary....but i still feel the need to bid you a farewell for the torment you put me through being completely useless at the plate.

[Quake Griffin]

http://www.kffl.com/gnews.php?id=894121 ... struggling

uh oh

[Neddy]

ya i just got a text from bleachers today that Alex G is most likely headed down to the minors. I am okay with it. let him get his feet set at 2nd while getting his chemistry up with his future double play mate Arruebarruena. Dee can handle for now and we are not in any hurry. Alex wasn't going to make or break our offense, or defense for that matter.

it could only be for a few months to get his rust off anyway. remember, he hasn't played any baseball since he got caught trying to defect, then since successfully defecting while establishing his residency outside of cuba. it's been some time for our boy Alex.