Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
Around SBN: Dan Marino Starting College For Developmentally Disabled

Smiling Sammy says Sayonara

Back on December 12th I was told the moon was going to be the biggest in years but when I went to take a walk with my wife tonight I could have sworn this moon was the biggest I'd ever seen.  I'd just finished reading Eric's take on Sammy leaving us for Boston and it left me feeling wistful about losing one of my favorite players.

So with a full moon bathing my back yard in the glory of it's moonlight it was a good time to bask in the good times that Takashi Saito gave me over the last three years. His smile was like the moon I was looking at tonight, large and infectious, if Sammy was smiling good things had happened.  In reflection it was hard to belive that the diminutive Saito would give us anything to remember him for, however by the time he said good bye this week he had touched all Dodger fans with his smile and skill.

 Back in February of 2006, noted Dodger author Jon Weisman had this to say about Sammy Saito

Takashi Saito, P: This year's Norihiro Nakamura, pitching side. A 36-year-old (on Valentine's Day) pitcher with a 3.82 ERA in Japan last season doesn't excite.

I wasn't blogging  back then but I would have agreed with the above sentiment. Even for a mere 500,000 I felt it was wasted money and his spring training did nothing to absolve those doubts.  As 2006 started he was an after thought but he got off to a great start and gave up one run in his first 12 appearances. With a .69 ERA going into his 13th game he had gotten the attention of Dodger fans. Then reality seemed to settle in as he got hammered in back to back games and his ERA swelled to 3.68.  This surely was the real Saito and I did not expect him to last much longer.

From that point on May 6th, 2006, Takashi Saito put together some of the best relief pitching any Dodger team has ever seen,  and he did it with a smile that won over all Dodger fans.  When  Eric Gagne went down it could have been a catastrophe but when smiling Sammy stepped into to fill the void the Dodgers didn't lose a thing.

It took a while for me to believe in Sammy, I even went into the 2007 season still a skeptic but quickly became his biggest fan when he proved his 2006 was not a fluke but the result of a solid fastball, killer slider, and incredible command.

I love players who love the game and are not afraid to show such love, and Sammy was one of those players. My best memory of Sammy occurred when he had failure, not success, as I was moved by how  devastated he was by his failure. It was the infamous 4 + 1 game and Sammy felt he was the goat because he gave up 3 runs in the 9th. One of the greatest regular seasons game at Dodger Stadium would never have happened if he hadn't picked that inning to implode. In fact I left that game in the 9th because Sammy imploded and I felt like Sammy with with his head down in the dugout.  

The Dodgers have made a baseball decision to let him go but you have to wonder if it was the right thing to do. Some will argue that this was simply a business decision and that due to his health we owed him nothing. They will say it matters not at all that he performed for 500,000 in 2006,  1 Million in 2007, and 2 Million in 2008 while giving the Dodgers millions more in performance and memories then he was paid.

They may be right but it does not feel right to me that the Boston Red Sox feel he is a good enough bet that they are willing to bet on him and we weren't. Currently the Red Sox are betting on two of our past heroes regaining past glory. One left here as a malcontent who evidently burned his bridges and that was that. The only memory I have of him is that loved  his hair more then his team, and that when Depodesta needed him to come up big his nerve gave out. The other left here after giving us everything he had.

I know which one I'll be rooting for to make the Dodgers look foolish.

Comment 6 comments  |  0 recs  | 

Do you like this story?

Comments

Display:

I'll miss Saito

His smile was great, and a nice end to many games for the Dodgers. Diamond Leung on his blog also brought up the 4+1 game, and I thought this passage typified just how cool Sammy was:

“A lot of the guys saw me crying, and they thought I was crying because of the runs I gave up,” Saito said through a translator. “But I wasn’t crying because of that. It’s actually embarrassing to talk about that now, but the reason I was crying was because I was so moved by everybody’s emotions and the way they were encouraging me to forget about what had happened.”

How can anyone not love this guy?

-Eric

by Eric Stephen on Jan 10, 2009 11:46 PM PST reply actions  

dodgers have blown it twice now in one off season, both Saito and Penny should have been kept. I mean we have Estes and maybe Reyes to take their places? hooooorahh
train

by Bluetrain on Jan 11, 2009 3:24 AM PST reply actions  

"Blown it" is too strong

I would have liked to see both Saito and Penny back, but each have legitimate injury concerns:

1) Penny admitted that he withheld information about his injury so he can keep pitching, and all of a sudden now he says he feels great. How are we supposed to believe him. Players will say anything to play. Plus, Penny was a prick who wore out his welcome in LA and was essentially told to take a hike for the playoffs…they didn’t even want him in the clubhouse.

2) The club felt Saito might not even be ready to pitch until May or June, and that’s why he was non-tendered (he probably would have received at least $4 or $5 million in arbitration). I surely would have brought him back for at least the same contract as Boston, with only $1.5 to $2.5 million guaranteed. I’m sad to see him go, but it’s reasonable to have concerns about a pitcher who (a) threw 5.2 IP after July 12 last year, and (b) is 39 this year.

Estes isn’t guaranteed a roster spot. I can’t believe that move is getting any flack. Every club brings in a bunch of crap every spring and they through it all against the wall. If it sticks, great. If it doesn’t, the player gets released or provides minor league depth. Do you really believe the Dodgers won’t sign a starting pitcher now because they signed Estes and Claudio Vargas?

-Eric

by Eric Stephen on Jan 11, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions  

re:

I agree that all teams do these things but I also believe that the signing of players like Castro/Estes may be more then insurance. We shall wait and see but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hu and Stults in AAA with Castro/Estes on the major league roster. No I don’t believe that signing Estes or Vargas will preclude the team from signing another pitcher if they so desire.

Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen

by Phil Gurnee on Jan 11, 2009 10:21 AM PST up reply actions  

In the case of Castro

I wouldn’t mind at all if Hu was in AAA starting rather than riding the pine with the big club. I just hope Abreu is healthy this spring and can claim his rightful spot as at least the utility infielder with LA.

-Eric

by Eric Stephen on Jan 11, 2009 10:26 AM PST up reply actions  

Saito and Penny

Yeah, I really dug Saito, too. Great vibe and outstanding performance (hard to find a lot of that these days). Considering the money he was making (very low by MLB standards for a quality pitcher), I also am inclined to say, “hey, why not give him a chance, like Boston?” Of the course, the situation is different, with Boston already pretty solid with pitching and relief, while the Dodgers have some serious holes and feel that don’t have as much room to say, “what the hell, sign him.” Plus I suspect serious money issues (shortages) with management. I also suspect further that Frank is just cruising and grooming the team to be sold at a nice profit for himself.

As far as Penny is concerned, certainly no good vibes there. He was an ass last season in mouthing off while the team was in the middle of the playoff run, while demanding a contract extension after a serious arm injury. That kind of thing really turns me off on a player. Whatever his side of it is, there is a professional and unprofessional way of doing things, which always comes back to your respect for the team, the game, and its fans—-which many players seem to forget.

I wish him all the worst in Boston.

Saito—rock out, dude! Love ya’!

by nevernine on Jan 12, 2009 7:40 PM PST reply actions  

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

A place for Dodger fans to congregate without spending $15 on parking.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

100_1427_small
Dodger Blogger Softball Tourney Update
2011-philly-game-me__2__small
2011 Dodgers Spreadsheet Project
Ed-ak286_scully_g_20091006143938_small
It is time to play - Name the BA Top 30

Recent FanPosts

Albatross_small
All-star predictions
Img_0247_small
Dodgers.com might have a job opening...
Small
Law Ranks Dodger System #12
Small
DODGERS -- 2 GREAT SEATS FOR SALE
Small
Joe Torre Horrow Show
Small
Are you the Biggest Dodger Fan?
P1010315_small
1st Trip to LA

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

2012 Dodgers Payroll

Italics denote estimates
Pos No Player 2012 Salary
C 17 Ellis $500,000 team control
1B 7 Loney $6,375,000
2B 14 Ellis $2,500,000
3B 5 Uribe $8,000,000
SS 9 Gordon $485,000 team control
LF 21 Rivera $4,000,000
CF 27 Kemp $10,000,000
RF 16 Ethier $10,950,000

IF/OF 6 Hairston $2,250,000
OF 10 Gwynn $850,000
2B/3B 3 Kennedy $800,000
C 18 Treanor $850,000
IF 12 Sellers $485,000 team control

SP 22 Kershaw $6,000,000
SP 58 Billingsley $9,000,000
SP 29 Lilly $12,000,000
SP 37 Capuano $3,000,000
SP 44
Harang $3,000,000

CL 54 Guerra $485,000 team control
RHP 74
Jansen $500,000 team control
RHP 55 Guerrier $4,750,000
RHP Coffey $1,000,000
RHP 66 MacDougal $650,000
LHP 57 Elbert $485,000 team control
RHP 36
Hawksworth $500,000 team control

TJ 41 De La Rosa $485,000 team control



Manny $8,087,432 deferred


Andruw $3,375,000 deferred


Pierre $3,050,000 deferred
Furcal $3,000,000 deferred
Kuroda $2,000,000 deferred
Garland $1,500,000 option buyout
Blake $1,250,000 option buyout

Totals
$112,162,432

For more detailed information, click here.

Players on 40-man roster used as roster
fillers until moves are made.

Current 40-man roster count: 40
(not including Belisario)

2012 Non-Roster Invitees

No Player Age*
63 Jose Ascanio rhp
27
61 Alberto Castillo lhp
36
60 Matt Chico lhp
29
35 John Grabow lhp
33
59 Angel Guzman rhp
30
47 Wil Ledezma lhp
31
72 Shane Lindsay rhp
27
62 Fernando Nieve rhp 29
73 Scott Rice lhp 30
70 Will Savage rhp
27
71 Ryan Tucker rhp
25

30 Josh Bard c 34
82 Griff Erickson c 24
81 Matt Wallachc 26
67 Jeff Baisley 3b/1b 29
62 Luis Cruz ss/2b 28
33 Josh Fields 3b 29
64 Lance Zawadzki if 27
56 Cory Sullivan of 32

*Age on June 30, 2012

NRI count: 19

For more info, click here.


Manager

Eric___ned___reporters_2011_trade_deadline_small Eric Stephen

Editors

100_1427_small Phil Gurnee

Dgy_small David Young

Hanauma_bay_small Chad Moriyama

2501_small Michael White

Raptors_small Brandon Lennox