Most people know how I feel about the Dodgers getting players via free agency or trades.  I’m usually against it, and would rather stick with what we have.  However, I’m pretty sure the Dodgers are going to make at least a few moves this winter, so I’d might as well break down the possibilities and give my opinions on them.

A-Rod:  As much as I’ve written about not acquiring him, if we signed him to a deal for less than 6 years, then really this isn’t a bad move.  However, I will say that I only like such a move if he is the only high priced offensive player we get.  If we sign him and then a guy like Andruw Jones, then that is just too much money to spend.  Also, if we signed him, I would be OK with trading Andy LaRoach for some pitching talent because his road to 3rd base would be blocked in LA.

Miguel Cabrera:  You can read my other posts about how I feel about this trade.  As long as we don’t include any of our great young players, then I am OK with.  However, it is unlikely that we can get him without giving up a young star, so I say stay away from this trade.  Plus, he’s overweight!

Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter:  If we don’t get A-Rod or Cabrera, then I can almost bet that we will sign either Jones or Hunter.  Once again, I haven’t been a huge fan of this move in the past, but if getting one of these guys is the only move we make, then I guess I will be OK with it. 

Any of the FA pitchers:  Don’t do it, they are all horrible, and anyone signing them will be forced to overpay

So basically, my guess is that the Dodgers will get either A-Rod, Cabrera, Jones, or Hunter.  With Joe Torre in town, McCourt and Colletti are going to try their best to get a big name player, even if it means overpaying for them.  While I’m not extremely happy with this, I’ve come to terms with the idea because I know there is nothing I can do.  So as the rumors continue to fly, LA fans can almost rest assured that they will get one of these players.

For the record, my guess is that the Dodgers get Andruw Jones.  Also, I bet that for the amount we pay him, LA fans will be greatly disappointed with the numbers he puts over the next few years.

I know I talked a little bit about this yesterday, but with all the Miguel Cabrera talks, I wanted to list the guys that the Dodgers absolutely cannot trade.  Each of these guys has tremendous talent, and it will be horrible if any of them leave the organization.  They are:

Chad Billingsley – A stud pitcher with the potential to be our ace sooner rather than later

Russell Martin – Pretty obvious why…one of the best catchers in baseball

Matt Kemp – A five tool player who can hit at least 35 HR’s as soon as next season

James Loney – Showed that he will be an awesome player for years to come with some power

Jonathan Broxton – Struggled at the end of last season, but is only 23 and will be a solid closer for many years

Clayton Kershaw – One of the best pitching prospects in baseball.  May be able to help the Dodgers as soon as next Summer

So while we may be drooling over Cabrera, they are almost surely going to want at least one or two of these players in return.  Like I said yesterday, if that is the case, then we’d better not take it, or we will regret that decision for the next 10 years.  There are plenty of other prospects out there (Abreu, LaRoach, McDonald, Hu, and even Ethier) and while I think each of them has potential, if Colletti can work a deal using some of them, then I’m all for it.  Just don’t trade those 6 players!

Check out all the Dodger prospects from the Arizona Fall League in a video you will find at http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/?league=afl.  This will help you see the face of some of the guys I’ve mentioned such as Greg Miller and Blake Dewitt.  Unfortunately, Greg Miller started today and had another bad outing.  Looks like he’s going to need another year at AA or AAA to figure out what he’s doing wrong.  Dewitt, however, is having a good Fall season, hitting .350 in 40 AB’s.  Another guy I want to mention is Cory Wade, who in 7 innings of work has a 1.23 ERA and 7 K’s.  I’m not quite sure what the injury status is with Chin-Lung Hu, but he hasn’t played since October 22nd, so he’ll probably just sit the rest of the season out to recover from his pulled hamstring.

Also, I want to apologize for mentioning the Dodgers getting Andy Pettitte yesterday, because apparently I didn’t do enough research.  He has said that he will either retire or play only for the Yankees, so I guess there is no way we can get the guy.  Finally, there have been rumors that Miguel Cabrera might be available via a trade.  While I would love to see him in Dodger blue, the Marlins will probably ask for too much in return.  The trade I’d be willing to do is giving up Andy LaRoach, Tony Abreu, and James McDonald for Cabrera.  What the Marlins will want, though, will probably be a package that contains either Kemp, Loney, or Billingsley, and to that I say No Deal!

As Joe Torre was introduced today at Dodger Stadium, the city of LA wondered what else he would bring with him.  Would it be A-Rod?  Maybe Andy Pettitte?  Possibly Mariano Rivera?  While we’ll have to wait and see which players he brings, it was announced today that he would bring two of his former coaches.  Both Larry Bowa and Don Mattingly will be apart of the Dodger coaching staff next year, and I think that this will be a major upgrade from what we had last year.  Quick, name the Dodgers 3rd base coach last year.  Bet most of you can’t do it, because the guy just wasn’t very memorable.  I’ll tell you one thing, I can guarantee that you’ll remember Bowa as a coach.  As for Mattingly, I would love to see him be our manager in 3 years when Torre is done.  He seems like a great guy, and would be the future of LA for many years to come. 

Now, I won’t discuss A-Rod because I’ve talked about him in other posts, but I heard Brad Penny on the radio today, and he thinks that the Dodgers will make a few big moves this off season.  The guy I thought about today was Andy Pettitte.  After hearing that the Yankees had declined his option, I’m pretty sure the Dodgers will at least be interested.  In an off season with very few free agent pitchers, he would be the best bet if we could sign him to a 2 year deal for somewhere around $25 million.  I know it sounds like a lot of money, but I think he actually might be worth it, especially given that Estaban Loaiza is currently our 4th starter.  I’m still against Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones, but I think getting a pitcher will help us out in a big way.

Lastly, I think it’s funny that Gonzo wants to come back now.  I would never take the guy back, and I’m glad that he’s no longer on the team. 

Just say no to A-Rod.  That’s what I’m saying after hearing multiple rumors that he will follow Joe Torre to LA.  Sure the Dodgers are the perfect fit because they need someone who can play 3rd base AND a middle of the order power hitter.  Sure A-Rod is perfect for LA because of his flashy personality and need for attention.  However, A-Rod is a guy I love to hate, so why would I want him on my team?  I’ve hated him all these years, and I can’t just totally change my mind.  That’s just not who I am.

Plus, I would much rather see us win with the young guys.  I don’t want us to become the Yankees!  I know Andy LaRoach can play, but he needs to be given a full opportunity, not just a 5 games here and 7 games there.  He needs at least a month to adjust, and after that I believe be will be able to produce numbers such as 20 HR’s and 80 RBI’s, but at a fraction of the cost!  He won’t hit 40 HR’s, but he also won’t cost $35 million and the chance to resign guys like Martin, Kemp, and Loney when their time comes! 

Honestly, I would love for A-Rod to go to a place to San Francisco where I can continue to hate the guy.  He can take Barry Bond’s place on the team, and then when we beat them, and they finish in last place, I will laugh even harder.  So McCourt, Colletti, and Joe…Just say No!

So I guess I was wrong.  I was wrong that McCourt would go back on his word.  I was even wrong about the guy he’d go after as a replacement manager.  I still can’t believe it, and honestly don’t know how I feel about it.  While I stopped liking Grady Little during the 2nd half of this past season, I never thought that we’d get a guy like Torre.  He has so much Yankee tradition, and it will be hard to accept that he bleeds Dodger blue.  However, he is a great manager, and I believe that he will bring the team together.  Overall, I think that Torre will be 100 times better than Grady, and I’m proud of Frank McCourt for finally taking some action to improve this struggling team.

On another note, however, I don’t want the Dodgers to go out and sign a bunch of free agents.  I definitely do not want A-Rod, and I don’t think that Tori Hunter or Andruw Jones deserve the money that they are asking.  Let Torre develop the young players on this team without committing hundreds of millions of dollars to free agents who only care about money.  Then, when the time comes to sign players like Martin, Kemp, and Loney to long term contracts, the Dodgers will be able to afford this genuine, home grown talent! 

So the talk the last few days has been the Dodgers relationship with Joe Girardi.  Will he be manager?  Will he be the bench coach?  Will the Dodgers fire Grady Little?  Well, here’s what I think.  I think there is no way the Dodgers will fire Little, mainly because Frank McCourt has already come out and said that both Little and Colletti will be back next year.  If McCourt changes his mind and goes back on his word, he will think to himself "how will the fans ever trust me again?"  So basically, even though Girardi would be a better fit for this team, McCourt has already ruined the changes of that happening because of his premature announcement.  Why he said what he did before the season was over is beyond me, but now that it’s been said, there is now way he will change his mind because he doesn’t want to look like a liar.

So where does that leave the Dodgers and Girardi?  Well, if he doesn’t get the Yankees’ job, Girardi has two options.  Option one, he takes the job as the Dodgers’ bench coach in hopes that the Dodgers will play poorly so he can take over as manager in 2009.   Option two, he takes one more year off, relaxes at home, does a little commentary, and sees what is open in 2009, knowing that teams will still want him then.  I think if I were him I’d rather take another year off rather than being a bench coach for a team that has underachieved during the past few years, but that’s just my opinion. 

Winter League Update

In the Hawaii League, most of the Dodger prospects have not played well.  The West Oahu CaneFires have played 22 games, and in that time 3B Joshua Bell has hit only .207 with 1 HR, OF Jamie Hoffmann has struggled at .218 and 0 HR’s, and OF Ryan Rogowski is at .230 with 1 HR.  The only hitter with respectable numbers is 1B Russell Mitchell who has a .283 average, 2 HR’s, and 11 RBI’s.  When looking at the pitchers, only Steven Johnson has done well.  Through 22 innings, he has a 2.78 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and 19 K’s.  The Dodgers other two pitching prospects, Kyle Wilson and Garrett White, have ERA’s of 10.66 and 7.88 respectively.

In the Arizona Fall League, Delwyn Young and Andy LaRoach have just starting playing with Team USA, and are off to hot starts.  Young already has 5 hits in his first 7 AB’s for a .714 average, and LaRoach had the game winning RBI double in his first start (1 for 3 overall).  The other Dodger prospects, playing for the Peoria Saguaros, have had mixed results.  Chin-Lung Hu suffered a hamstring injury and hasn’t played since early in the week, but it does not appear to be too serious.  He has a .273 average in 10 games with 1 HR.  3B Blake Dewitt has only appeared in 7 games, but has accumulated a .375 average.  OF Xavier Paul has really struggled, hitting only .234 with no HR’s in 13 games.  For the pitchers, one Dodger has excelled; Justin Orenduff.  He has a 2.25 ERA with 7 K’s in 8 innings.  Greg Miller is still trying to get it together while posting a 13.50 ERA, however he does have 9 K’s in 6 innings.  Wesley Wright has a 5.59 ERA, and has 11 K’s in 10 innings.

There is not much to talk about in the Caribbean Leagues as there has not been much change since my last post, although I am happy to report that Rafael Furcal has not played at all, which is a good thing sine he has a bad ankle.

So I did a little research on Dodgers who are playing in the Caribbean Winter Leagues (the Mexican, Venezuelan, and Dominican Leagues), and found a few players from our minor leagues.  I’ll go league by league.

Mexican League

The Dodger players in the Mexican League are guys who are older and appear to be minor leaguers for life.  Nevertheless, I’ll list their Mexican League team along with their stats and information from last season with the Dodgers.

Francisco Felix, P – Tomateros de Culiacan (played for Dodgers High A, 24 years old, 3.87 ERA, 93 K’s in 102 innings)

Spike Lundberg, P – Algodoneros de Guasave (played for Dodgers AAA, 30 years old, 6.94 ERA, 80 K’s in 120 innings)

Matt Riley, P – Algodoneros de Guasave (played for Dodgers AAA, 28 years old, 5.19 ERA, 83 K’s in 69 innings)

John Lindsey, 1B – Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Split time between Dodgers AA and AAA, 30 years old, .317 average, 30 HR’s)

Marshall McDougall 3B – Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Split time between Dodgers AA and AAA, 28 years old, .283 average, 22 HR’s)

Sergio Garcia 2B – Venados de Mazatlan (Played for Dodgers AAA, 27 years old, .292 average, 8 HR’s)

The most interesting player on this list is John Lindsey, who at 30 years old dominated AA and AAA last year and hit 30 HR’s.  While he may be too old to factor into the Dodgers plans, he continues to show how good he is in the Mexican League as he’s hitting .343 with 3 HR’s and 12 RBI’s in only 9 games.  I personally think he should be given a chance in spring training to claim a spot on our bench, but who knows what management will do.  The only other player who is playing well in the league is Francisco Felix.  He’s the youngest out of these players at only 24, and while he is still stuck in the High A level, he had an OK year.  So far in the Mexican League, he’s thrown 4 shutout innings with 2 K’s.

Venezuelan League

This league also has a few Dodger prospects, but once again there are no big name players here.  They are:

Luis Maza 3B, – Tigres de Aragua (Split time between Dodgers AA and AAA, 27 years old, .302 average, 6 HR’s)

Eduardo Perez 1B, – Leones del Caracas (Played for Dodgers low A, 23 years old, .311 average, 14 HR’s)

Miguel Pinango, P – Navegantes del Magallanes (played for the Dodgers AAA this year, 24 years old, 4.21 ERA, 113 K’s in 154 innings)

Juan Gonzalez 2B, – Aguilas de Zulia (Played for Dodgers AA, 25 years old, .287 average, 9 HR’s)

Jonathan Figueroa, P – Aguilas de Zulia (played for the Dodgers Low A this year, 24 years old, 0.90 ERA, 17 K’s in 10 innings)

The first player here I would like to highlight is Eduardo Perez.  Perez had a decent year for the Dodgers Low A team, but he is already 23 years old.  Therefore, he needs to step it up soon, but he is struggling so far in this league hitting only .200 with 1 RBI through 4 games.  The other player I want to talk about is Jonathan Figueroa.  He only pitched in 10 games last season for the Dodgers low A team, but as you can see above, in that time he compiled 17 K’s in only 10 innings with a 0.90 ERA.  While he’s already 24, he stands tall at 6’5" and is a lefty who can dominate.  So far in the Venezuelan League, he has not allowed a run is 4 innings, and has 4 K’s.

Dominican League

This league is generally the most prestigious of the leagues, and while this league has the most Dodger prospects of the three, there are very few names I recognize.  Also, because this league has just started, some of the names I list may not be playing for a while, or maybe not at all (such as Rafael Furcal).  I was simply going off the team rosters that were provided on milb.com.

Ramon Troncoso, P – Azucareros del Este (played for the Dodgers AA this year, 24 years old, 2.42 ERA, 69 K’s in 78 innings)

Marlon Aries, P – Leones del Escogido (played for the Dodgers High A this year, 23 years old, 5.32 ERA, 95 K’s in 129 innings)

Carlos Santana C, – Leones del Escogido (played for Dodgers Low A, 21 years old, .223 average, 7 HR’s)

Rafael Furcal, SS – Leones del Escogido (Played for Dodgers, 29 years old, .270, 6 HR’s)

Arismendy Castillo, P – Estrellas de Oriente (played for the Dodgers Low A this year, 22 years old, 5.36 ERA, 67 K’s in 91 innings)

Jose Diaz, P – Estrellas de Oriente (played for the Dodgers Low A this year, 23 years old, No stats due to Limited Action)

Yulkin German, P – Estrellas de Oriente (played for the Dodgers Low A this year, 24 years old,  17.44 ERA, 12 K’s in 16 innings)

Wilkin Ruan, OF – Estrellas de Oriente (Split time between Dodgers AA and AAA, 29  years old, .285 average, 2 HR’s)

Miguel Ramirez, P – Gigantes del Cibao (Split time between Dodgers Low A and High A this year, 24 years old, 2.39 ERA, 66 K’s in 60 innings)

Wilson Valdez, SS – Gigantes del Cibao (Played for Dodgers AAA, 29 years old, .343 average, 4 HR’s)

Honestly, besides the guys who played for the Dodgers this year (Furcal and Valdez), none of these guys seem to be destined to make the Major Leagues.  The only players whose stats from last year seem to stand out are those of Miguel Ramirez, but that’s only because he had more K’s than innings pitched.  He is already 24 years old and still played at Single A, so his time might also be passed.  For the record, he hasn’t played yet this season.  Also, the rest of the Dodger players in this league haven’t seen enough significant time to report their stats.

Lastly, if you know of any other players who may be playing in any of these leagues, let me know in a comment, and I’ll have updates of the Arizona and Hawaii Leagues in my next post.

In the Arizona Fall League, the Peoria Saguaros have played 5 games, and so far the stats look like this for the Dodger prospects.  Chin-Lung Hu has a .467 average in 15 AB’s, but thus far has not shown any power with 0 HR’s and only 1 double.  Blake Dewitt has a .375 average in only 8 AB’s, and also has shown no power.  Xavier Paul has struggled to a .133 average in 15 AB’s, and unfortunately has 7 K’s.  As for the Dodger pitchers, nobody has thrown over 4 innings, so the stats are minimal, although Wesley Wright has thrown 3 shutout innings with 4 K’s, and Justin Orenduff has only allowed 1 ER in 4 innings.  Greg Miller, however, has already had a poor outing, allowing 4 ER’s in 2 innings of work.

In the Hawaii League, the West Oahu CaneFires continue to struggle with a 2-10 record.  The Dodger’s pitchers have also played poorly as of late, and Steven Johnson followed up a great performance with a game where he allowed 5 ER’s in 4 innings.  For the year, he has a 4.15 ERA, and the other two Dodger pitchers, Kyle Wilson and Garrett White, have ERA’s of 17.05 and 8.44 respectively.  The hitters are not doing too much better, with Russell Mitchell as the only Dodger hitter with an average over .300 (his is .333).  Ryan Rogowski has an average of .270, Jaime Hoffman is hitting .229, and Josh Bell is at .194, and none of these guys have more than 1 HR.

Finally, the winter leagues are starting up in the Caribbean, as the Mexican and Venezuelan Leagues have already begun, and the Dominican League will begin shortly.  Once the Dominican League starts, I will let you know who the notable Dodger players are, and give some updates on how they are playing.

So here is a quick update on the Dodger prospects in the Hawaii League through their first 8 games.  Pitcher Steven Johnson has performed very well so far picking up the win on Sunday for the CaneFires.  For the year, through 9 innings he has an ERA of 1.00 while allowing only 1 walk, and striking out 8.  The other two pitchers, however, have not performed well in limited action.  Garrett White has allowed 2 runs in 3.1 innings, for a 5.40 ERA, and Kyle Wilson has given up an astounding 12 runs in 4.1 innings, for an 24.92 ERA, although he does have 7 K’s in that time. 

In looking at the hitters, none of the Dodger prospects are doing much of anything.  Ryan Rogowski has the highest average of the bunch at .269, but Josh Bell and Russell Mitchell are right behind him with .261 averages.  Also, both Bell and Mitchell have 1 HR in 23 AB’s. 

So as you can see, it’s been fairly disappointing so far, which is probably why the CaneFires are 2-6 on the year.  Hopefully in my next Hawaii update I’ll have some better stats to post.