Dodgers Sign All Remaining Arbitration Eligible Players
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 8:50 PM PST
in Payroll
159 comments
It looks like Kim Ng will have a clear schedule in February, now that the remaining seven arbitration-eligible Dodgers have agreed to contracts for 2010, and in some cases, 2011. Here's a quick summary, with help from Tony Jackson of ESPN, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, and Ed Price of AOL:
- After submitting a salary of $7.65 million, compared to $6 million by the Dodgers, Andre Ethier signed a two-year deal for $15.25 million. Ethier will get $6 million in 2010, and $9.25 million in 2011, plus some incentives for a yet unknown amount
- After submitting a salary of $5.4 million, compared to $4.1 million by the Dodgers, Jonathan Broxton signed a two-year deal for $11 million. Broxton will receive $4 million in 2010, and $7 million in 2011, after which he is eligible for free agency
- Russell Martin gets $5.05 million, plus $50,000 for each of 550 & 600 plate appearances
- George Sherrill gets $4.5 million, plus $75,000 for each of 60 & 70 games
- James Loney gets $3.1 million in his first year of arbitration
- Hong-Chih Kuo gets $950,000, plus incentives of $25,000 for 55 & 60 games, and $50,000 for 65 & 70 games
I have updated the payroll worksheet (now with 45 footnotes!) with these details. As it stands right now, with another starting pitcher yet to be signed -- Ben Sheets, anyone? -- I have the 2010 payroll estimated at between $90-91 million. For 2011, I have estimated roughly $88 million. For reference, the current year's payroll is always located on the right side of the front page, including a link to the payroll worksheet for more details.
One of the other arbitration-eligible Dodgers, Chad Billingsley -- who signed last Friday -- gave an interview to Sirius XM radio about his second half slide. Former Dodgers beat writer Diamond Leung was listening and took some notes. Said Billingsley:
"Sitting out a couple starts, I wasn’t really doing a whole lot because you can’t really get up and run a whole lot. You’re pretty much sitting around for days (on) end. You just kind of get out of a routine. I don’t know if that was the case or I wasn’t sticking with my routine and getting out there on the mound every fifth day or making sure I get my bullpens in. It was a different experience for me, and I learned a lot from it, and it’s just going to make me that much better down the road."
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that
“after which he is eligible for free agency” scares me a little…
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Jan 19, 2010 9:18 PM PST reply actions
Despite what Frank might want
I, for one, will be very pleased if Kuo hits his incentives. If he can make 60+ appearances, I expect the Dodger bullpen to once again be the best in baseball. It would also make trade bait out of Sherrill. (Not that I have anything against Sherrill)
I don’t think Frank would mind playing $150k if it meant Kuo was healthy all year.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 9:26 PM PST up reply actions
I Have Always Been A Broxton Fan...
…but I would not keep him into his free agent years. I think we can replace him from somebody already in the organization and avoid paying too much for a closer. Let the money be spent elsewhere.
I agree in principle, but I wouldn’t mind top dollar paying for an elite closer, which I think Broxton is. I wouldn’t have minded if Broxton signed through a couple FA years, especially since it likely would have been at a (slight) discount from FA prices.
At any rate, we will have a better idea of Broxton’s worth after the next two years, so I’m willing to revisit the issue then.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 9:28 PM PST up reply actions
Our future closer is either Lindblom or Eovaldi. I’d love to see either replace Broxton. Right now, Lindblom seems to have a deeper arsenal, so maybe he should start until further notice. Nate brings the POWER fastball.
i heard he has that power fastball
but in radio when i listened he was at 90 mph…
Random stat of the day
Andre Ethier has the most doubles (132) by any LA Dodger in their first 580 games with the club.
Look at Piazza…135 HOMERUNS(!) in his first 580 games, along w/a .945 OPS. Sheesh…
by KellyStephen on Jan 19, 2010 9:40 PM PST up reply actions
You have to drag it out to 770 games to find another LA Dodger to hit 135 homers (Mondesi). Although Frank Howard did hit 123 HR in his 624 games in Dodger blue.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 9:56 PM PST up reply actions
Brotherly Love Over?
from David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News:
The Phillies are holding a workout with former All-Star closer Eric Gagne, according to a Quebec radio station. http://tinyurl.com/yf2quum
Gagne was a great one
I wonder why no one at the Dodgers would give him the time of day? He had been pretty vocal about that fact that he was open to it and even visited for a game. It was almost like the Dodgers were embarrassed and wanted to try and downplay him.
by MiguelLADodgerTalk on Jan 19, 2010 10:31 PM PST up reply actions
It’s probably a combo of Gagne being finished, plus the Mitchell Report.
Well, that and they have a maximum of one French Canadian on the roster.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 10:41 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Nope!
I can run for president as soon as 2012!!!
by Eric Stephen on Jan 19, 2010 10:46 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Have you decided between Bill the Cat or Randy of the Redwoods to be your running mate yet?
2009-10 Kings Hockey: Delivering Milk Steaks from the Meat Train at an arena near you!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Jan 20, 2010 1:18 PM PST up reply actions
Actually they had both Gagne and Martin on the roster for two years or so
…but on the active roster for much less than that. Dodgers had a 100% French Canadian battery for exactly one game.
(P.S. I’m Canadian, from Montreal, though not French Canadian. And I most certainly don’t qualify.)
Incentives
I have no idea what Ethier’s incentives are, but as of now there are roughly $2.6m in potential incentives on the 25-man roster:
Martin – $100k
Blake – $500k
Furcal – $1m (very vague, for maintaining a core strength program)
Kemp – $300k
Carroll – $262,500* (*haven’t seen the details yet, but it was reported that he has $525k in incentives over two seasons)
Repko – $125k
Sherrill – $150k
Kuo – $150k
Furcal – $1m (very vague, for maintaining a core strength program)
Our highest paid player in 2011. Yuck. Not that I think he’s bad, but our desperation for a SS at that time will cost us.
by silverwidow on Jan 19, 2010 10:57 PM PST up reply actions
Serioursly
I think the lack of production for the cost at SS has hurt us the most. I was thinking of starting a new Road to the Show character on PS3, and I was going to choose to be a SS for this very reason. :)
by robotmadeofnails on Jan 20, 2010 10:35 AM PST up reply actions
Payroll
Wasn’t already said that the Dodgers would like to keep their payroll around $90mil this year?
And with the loss in season ticket sales its hard to imagine that Frank will fork out the dough I would suspect.
That being said I think we get Padilla on a 1 yr incentive laden deal and we wait out the spring and maybe part of the season for an opportunity to pick someone up at a deal.
I wouldn’t mind signing Garland, Pineiro, or Looper too of course.
by MiguelLADodgerTalk on Jan 19, 2010 10:43 PM PST reply actions
I've seen nothing from the Dodgers
about keeping the payroll at 90million. That was strictly conjecture based on the inaction this fall. Given that we are still trying to bring in a veteran pitcher I expect the 2010 payroll to be very close to the 2010 payroll.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
News from Dylan
Colletti said the Dodgers are expecting to hear back in the coming days from a starting pitcher they are pursuing. Although he declined to name the pitcher, Colletti is known to be in contact with the agents of Joel Pineiro, Vicente Padilla, Braden Looper and Jon Garland.
The Dodgers are in talks with left-hander Rich Hill about a minor league contract. Hill, 29, posted a 7.80 earned-run average for Baltimore last year in 14 games, including 13 starts
Like the talks with Rich Hill
I wish we had been in on Colby Lewis and Hill would be a decent gamble.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Terrible 2009
but he’s someone I’d give an NRI to if the medicals check out. WIld Ass Lefty is what he is, and he may be done but back in 2007 he had a terrific arm, then back problems, then labrum surgery. He’s the kind of upside guy I’d like to give an NRI to, and if I’m his agent I’d steer him our direction given the unsettled back end of the rotation.
USC women’s basketball coach Michael Cooper apologized to UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell in a letter for an expletive he used in his postgame news conference Sunday.
After USC beat UCLA 70-63 at the Galen Center, Cooper said: “My opening statement is (bleep) UCLA.”
It’s still unclear why Cooper used the derogatory remark because there didn’t appear to be anything controversial on or off the court during the game.
That’s just how people from USC roll.
yeah.. pretty crazy over there.
most of us HATE IT. i’m ok with it because i know molina is just keeping the gear warm. most likely, he won’t even reach his incentives for games played. reality check: going into 2010 with a rookie catcher, and a back up with an 11 year minor league career of suck, is not very safe.
1992 23 LAD NL 21 74 69 5 16 3 0 1 7 0 0 4 12 .232 .284 .319 .603 72 22 1 1 0 0 0 2
that is piazza’s line as a 23 y/o…. .284 obp. when posey’s ready, i hope the giants do the right thing.
by giantdonkey on Jan 20, 2010 10:36 AM PST up reply actions
Using 74 PA as a September callup to prove a point?
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:37 AM PST up reply actions
just saying if a 23 y/o prospect struggles… have a back up plan other than whiteside.
i’m sure piazza wasn’t just handed the everyday job after @ 150 AB’s above A ball.
by giantdonkey on Jan 20, 2010 10:41 AM PST up reply actions
But isn’t the general perception that Molina isn’t there to be the backup? That the Giants paid him $4.5m to be the starter for 2010? Or am I misreading that?
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:43 AM PST up reply actions
molina
will be the starter. i fully expect posey to stay in AAA long enough to get past super 2. then it’s a matter of posey playing and earning more playing time, which i expect he will.
by giantdonkey on Jan 20, 2010 10:47 AM PST up reply actions
not at all saying posey is piazza
bench – piazza- mauer… very rare. just looking for a similar age/position comp.
by giantdonkey on Jan 20, 2010 10:43 AM PST up reply actions
$88 MM payroll estimate for next season
Oh imagine the fun we could have if the payroll could go back up to the $110 – $120 MM range!
Re: Next big storm
Here is the radar from the next big storm about to make landfall. Looks pretty massive. Waves are suppose to be 25 feet tall in places today. I might bring my swimsuit to work. :)
Should I find it strange that I am seeing exotic animals in pairs walking down my street? Did someone leave the gate open at the zoo?
vr, Xei
expecting 3-4 more feet up here
to go on top of the 3-4 we have got since sunday. Going to have to break out my snorkel for the deep pow pow skiing on Friday, when it is all over, at least for this week. El Nino is a blessing and a curse all at once, we need to water but feel bad for our friends in mud slide areas.
by MammothDodger on Jan 20, 2010 8:56 AM PST up reply actions
Looks like yesterday was a pretty interesting day
Glad all these arb issues got wrapped up. The only player that it appears to be making too much money is Sherrill, given his role on the team. I still think he gets moved though.
Why would role have anything to do with it?
So if Sherrill is not on the team, and Broxton gets hurt. Who is closing for you? Who do you trust with your money and team with the game on the line?
th inning guy, LOOGY, back-up closer is the role, but the role on the team has nothing to do with it. Money made, comparables from previous years arbitrations, plus performance for the whole season last year goes into figuring arbitration. You can save the money for Sherrill, just cut him in ST.
Of course role has to do with how much somebody is worth. A backup closer (which is the argument you seem to be making here) is worth less than the actual closer, and your starting pitchers.
And I don’t really see why Sherril should be the next option to close a game after Broxton anyway, other than the “proven closer” tag he has. I don’t find his stuff to be that good anyway and I think he pitched into quite a bit of good luck. In fact I’ve argued several times on this blog that Sherrill in 2009 wasn’t a much better pitcher (if at all) than Cory Wade in 2008. And I wouldn’t give either of those guys $4.5MM.
And just to answer your question of players I trust more with the game on the line. I definitely trust Kuo more, and he’s only making $950M (injury concerns here obviously, but I find him to be a better pitcher.) And as others have mentioned above, there are guys in the organization who should get a look for the “setup” man role.
I realize that arbitration figures are most of the things you have said above, prior year salary, etc. But the fact is he will be an 8th inning guy on the Dodgers. For a team operating on a budget like the Dodgers, $4.5MM is a waste of money of a setup man, or insurance just in case both Broxton and Kuo are hurt and Lindblom can’t contribute now and McDonald still lacks the control to pitch in high leverage situations.
by Michael White on Jan 20, 2010 9:03 AM PST up reply actions
Aside from Kuo
I think I might trust Belisario more as well…
And his role...
for half a season was a full time closer. It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t with the Dodgers. The Dodgers have to look at the season as a whole, as well as the numbers at a whole.
As I stated below in a response, if everyone you mention is so good, why did they bother getting him last year? Everyone was pitching that would “be a better option”.
Also, they can cut him and not have to pay his salary, so no big deal. The arbitration salary is not guaranteed until, pretty much, opening day.
P.S. — Broxton signed for 2 yr/$11M, so he is making more money.
If the Dodgers cut the Brim Reaper during ST, they will surely face a grievance filed by the MLBPA on Sherrill’s behalf unless there is a clear-cut performance issue to justify the move, e.g., shows up weighing 400 pounds and can’t cover first, top the radar gun at 83 mph.
Nitpicky, but while Broxton is guaranteed more money over the next two years, but the splits have been reported to be 4 and 7, so GS will outearn JB this season.
Congrats to George on hitting a nice payday.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
by David Young on Jan 21, 2010 11:56 AM PST up reply actions
I agree
Sherrill is making way to much for his role. He is a prime candidate to be moved, we have plenty of options to replace him from Kuo to Elbert to Lindblom. If we can afford him great, then no big deal, but if his contract is hindering us from bringing in some quality instead of also rans like Jamey Carroll then we should move him.
Exactly
Moving Sherrill makes a ton of sense. I would maybe see if we could do a deal of Sherrill and B prospect for Zach Duke as they have similar contracts. Duke would give us a starting pitcher for the 5th spot and we would still have some money to try to get Sheets or Padilla. Elbert could easily slot into the open spot in the bullpen with Kuo and Bellisario moving into setup roles. We would still have Lindblom and Link in the minors ready to step in.
I think part of the problem with moving Sherrill during this off-season
was the plethora of free agent closers (and setup men). I’m sure Colletti made several calls about moving Sherrill, but with all the closers out there, a lot of GM’s probably wanted to see what their value would be. Now that there are benchmarks, maybe Sherrill gets moved before the deadline or possibly sooner.
That could be. I would guess that some team is going to realize in ST that their bullpen is not up to snuff and will come calling.
I think I also support trading Sherrill
but is theere any argument that overpaying for lefty bullpen help makes sense on the Dodgers, whose SP rotation will probably throw fewer innings than average this year, and Kuo, with his checkered injury history?
Just saying: keeping him in-house, even at his salary, might not be the dumbest thing. The Dodgers should be very judicious in trading him.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on Jan 20, 2010 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
I agree
He certainly doesn’t hurt the bullpen. I wouldn’t be in a rush to trade him. When we get close to the deadline and see where the Dodgers are at and who is offering what for his services, then I might be on the bandwagon.
Right
…especially since it may turn out that the team that really most needs his services is our Los Angeles Bums.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on Jan 20, 2010 10:20 AM PST up reply actions
I wouldn’t trade him to just to trade him. At this point, I think freeing up salary to sign a Braden Looper (lets say he costs $4.5 MM) would be a waste. However, if we could trade him and a prospect for a starter who will be legitimately better and/or can throw a lot more innings than our current 4th/5th options, then I could back that plan.
by BFDC on Jan 20, 2010 10:27 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
yeah
i’m not sure this is a possibility, but the only way i’d trade him at this moment is if we can get the value Josh Bell had during the last trade deadline in return. any takers?
I'm nobody's fool, least of all yours
by BoulderDodger on Jan 20, 2010 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
I would say if we are able to obtain Sheets, then I would be tempted to just keep Sherrill at least until the deadline. Going with a rotation of Kershaw, Bills, Sheets, Kuroda, and Stults/Elbert wouldn’t be a bad thing and we would have a shutdown bullpen.
But that’s the argument for why you should trade Sherrill now. Paying Sherrill $4.5MM will adversely impact the Dodgers ability to sign a starter like Sheets. Since a starting pitcher is more important than a reliever, I would ditch the reliever and sign the SP (a good SP that is) and then replace Sherrill’s productivity with the cost controlled options available, such as Kuo, McDonald, Elbert, Lindblom, Troncoso, Belisario.
by Michael White on Jan 20, 2010 10:48 AM PST up reply actions
I agree. But, hypothetically speaking, if we can scrape together enough pennies to sign Sheets without needing to trade Sherrill then all the better. We could then try to get a bigger haul for him at the deadline.
The more likely scenario is, as you say, one where we probably need the $4.5M to get a starter of Sheets’ caliber. I am certainly not against dealing him, since I really believe we have enough live arms to replace his production.
All of those...
options were there last year. Yet, they still made a trade, losing two prospects plus paying $1M for 3 months of his services. So, because they are cheaper this year, they are more of a viable option this year? Hmmmm, doesn’t seem to stand up, when they didn’t want to go with them last year.
Ned craves depth. He seeks depth like Sylvester seeks Tweety Bird. Colletti won’t be satisified until the roster has more depth than the Mariana Trench and he needs a bathysphere to scout the lowest rungs.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
by David Young on Jan 21, 2010 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
Any word on the minor league NRIs?
We usually have a list of names by now. Lindblom is a lock, but I would also like to see Withrow and Lambo.
So what did Chad learn during the season that he found so valuable. Not to get hurt and miss workouts because that throws him off his game?
My hope
is that he learned that walking people is bad.
The “making sure I get my bullpens in” was a little odd. I wasn’t aware there was a choice in the matter. Although maybe he was talking about when he was hurt. Who knows?
At any rate, I thought this photo of Charles Barkley and Chuck Person eating pizza at Auburn in 1984 was cool (courtesy of the SI Vault).
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 9:35 AM PST up reply actions
Sherrill
Seems like there are always a few contending teams whose bull-pen falls apart and scares the sauce out of the GM before the deadline. Sherrill could look like a savior and get the best return then, or am I missing something?
Padres' owner Jeff Moorad
gave an interview with Hacksaw (yes, he’s still around), and Gaslamp Ball took some notes. I thought this was interesting:
The gross revenue of the club is something in the range of $150 million. Most clubs have a payroll half the amount of the gross revenue. The Padres have to pay $20 million a year in stadium bonds. Moorad wouldn’t change that because we have one of the better stadiums in all of baseball. He believes that the Padres can maintain a $70-80 payroll in the future.
I just thought that was unique because you usually don’t hear an owner give any kind of specifics when talking about team finances. “Something in the range of $150 million” isn’t exactly pinning it down, but it’s more frank than most owners are.
as annoying
as Hacksaw could be at times, his was a real “sports” talk radio show. The guy knew his stuff. Today’s sports talk hosts are full of snarkiness and their shows are more like a men’s version of The View.
vr, Xei
The problems I had with Hacksaw had mostly to do with constantly trying to pass off taped interviews as live, many times with outdated information, and also his just blatantly making things up or claiming to have knowledge he didn’t have rather than admitting he didn’t know about a subject.
It’s always fun to mimic his “IIIIIIIIII want to talk sports with you” line as well.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 9:54 AM PST up reply actions
The problem I had was how much of a homer he was. He used to scream at callers who dared to say anything bad about the Chargers.
by Michael White on Jan 20, 2010 9:58 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah, and his announcing was not very good IMO. No matter the play, he would almost always say “everybody into the pattern…” Way to paint a picture for the listening audience.
Also, I don’t remember what game it was, but Hacksaw had the classic “throw the flag, damnit!” call of a non-penalty against the Chargers’ opponent. :)
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:16 AM PST up reply actions
Classic Hacksaw
“From Baja to the Canadian Rockies…”
and don’t forget the famous commercial for Clausthaler non-alcoholic beer: “Down it firefighter!”
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:14 AM PST up reply actions
Did you start out by saying “long time listener, first time caller”
by Michael White on Jan 20, 2010 9:58 AM PST up reply actions
I don’t really remember it well; it must have been 1996. Anyway, I was wondering if he thought it was a good idea for the Lakers to sign Chris Webber. He then went into a long speech about how he’s not a free agent, etc.
by silverwidow on Jan 20, 2010 10:00 AM PST up reply actions
I called 18-year-old Kobe Bryant a “project” on Rome’s show that year, too.
by silverwidow on Jan 20, 2010 10:08 AM PST up reply actions
You didn’t use the word “elite” to describe young Kobe? You dare doubt Jerry West?? :)
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:17 AM PST up reply actions
Was that after the
post season three point air ball show?
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:04 AM PST up reply actions
So...
Do you think the Dodger organization likes having Tommy around all the time, or is it just an awkward understanding that he will always be there?
by robotmadeofnails on Jan 20, 2010 10:55 AM PST up reply actions
I think they enjoy him being around. He’s still very popular, and is always in promotion mode anyway, so they just try to steer him in the right direction and let him do his thing.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:58 AM PST up reply actions
I still think
Tommy has plenty to offer the organization besides being an icon. Anyone who pitched as long as Tommy knows something about pitching.
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:01 AM PST up reply actions
What a cliche
does Vance Lovelace know anything about pitching?
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:22 AM PST up reply actions
“Reliever ERA is one of the worst ways to evaluate a relief pitcher,” Huntington said.
I guess the Pirates won’t be interested in Sherrill.
Even worse way to evaluate a relief pitcher: starter’s ERA :)
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 10:57 AM PST up reply actions
You have to look at starter's ERA
when evaluating relievers, because starters will pitch better when the have confidence in the guys backing them up.
-John Kruk
For some reason they also seem to pitch better
when they have Ozzie Smith playing SS.
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:02 AM PST up reply actions
Dodger starters
won’t have Jeff Weaver around to save their ERA in 2010. Luck or not the man left a shitload of inherited runners on base when the sacks were loaded.
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 10:59 AM PST up reply actions
I wonder what Weaver is asking for this offseason. We have heard very little about him other than the fact that we would be open to having him back. Is he still willing to do swingman duty, or was that just a 1 year thing to get him a starting gig?
Don't know
very quiet on the Weaver front. Don’t really see any room for him in the bullpen.
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:03 AM PST up reply actions
We should have brought him back
or still should. I wouldn’t mind bringing back Mota either, but neither one for more than 1.5 mill.
He was great with the bases loaded, but a lot of those runners were by his own doing. Weaver inherited just 13 runners in 2009, and four of them scored.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 11:04 AM PST up reply actions
I hate it when
perception is interrupted by reality. Stupid stats
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 11:21 AM PST up reply actions
E’s always been good at using facts to piss in somebody’s cornflakes.
My uncles can’t stand him…much.
by KellyStephen on Jan 20, 2010 12:07 PM PST up reply actions
I finally got around to reading Joe Posnanski’s latest work, an impassioned response to Carlton Fisk. As usual, Joe P is brilliant.
Did you catch Tom Verducci's
Teams that got the bang bang for their buck column, with the great charts. The Dodger’s ranking is right about where you have implied for at least two years.
The link is
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/tom_verducci/01/19/verducci.efficiency/index.html
It is pretty good work.
Off topic
I just looked at Ichiro’s stats…and maybe I have been living in another world, but the dude is freaking amazing.
by robotmadeofnails on Jan 20, 2010 11:59 AM PST reply actions
I wonder: if Ichiro Suzuki had been exactly the same player but made his major league debut at age 23, would he retire as the all-time hits leader?
There’s a lot that would have had to go right. He debuted at age 27, already in 200+-hit form. He’s now 35 and sitting on 2,000 hits. Add in the four years or so that he could have played in the majors if he’d been born in Kansas… bump him up to, oh, let’s say, 2750 hits.
How many more years can he play? Will he continue to lead the league in hits? One would think he’d have to have some decline, yes? Let’s say over the next five years he gets 900 hits, putting him at, oh, somewhere in the 3,700-hit neighborhood. He’s fourth all-time, a little behind Aaron with a ways to go to catch Ruth and Cobb. He’s now 40 years old.
Does he stick around as a part-time player to get 500 hits? It took Rose five yaers to hang around for his last 550 hits or so.
The Ultimate Ned's Kind of Guy
by Humma Kavula on Jan 20, 2010 12:30 PM PST up reply actions
Without breaking the record
is he first ballot material?
by robotmadeofnails on Jan 20, 2010 3:35 PM PST up reply actions
Was he the fastest to get to 2,000 hits?
Not in terms of age, but in terms of seasons?
Al Simmons
took 1390 games to get his 2000th hit.
Ichiro is 2nd at 1402 games
George Sisler is 3rd at 1414
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090906&content_id=6827058&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 3:59 PM PST up reply actions
Ichiro is the only one to do it in nine seasons though. He does benefit, of course, from seasons that are eight games longer of course, plus playing in nearly all of them.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
His arm is unbelievable. I can’t decide whether Ichiro or Mondesi is the best outfield arm I’ve seen. (This is the point where someone older than me jumps in and mentions Clemente)
Joe Ferguson
1974 World Series made the best throw I ever saw nailing a runner at the plate on the fly. In right field I saw him throw out a batter at first and had 3 DPs in 73 I think playing the outfield part time.
Carl Furillo I saw play in 1958 and 59 and even in his late 30’s he threw bullets. In his prime they say he might of been the best.
Cutting in front of the Toy Cannon and his damage throwing elbow to catch the fly and throw out Sal Bando at home was a great moment in that ‘74 WS. You’re right out 3 DPs in limited OF time – only 251 1/3 innings! – although it was in 1975.
Vin still loves Furillo’s arm. Reggie Smith had a pretty good gun also, sometimes less accurate though.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
by David Young on Jan 21, 2010 12:06 PM PST up reply actions
If this is true, that is an expensive risk.
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone hears Ben Sheets will seek “at least $10 million, plus lots of incentives, and a second-year, player-controlled option.”
Then again, Joe Blanton asked for over $10 MM
I expect
he will get a one year deal base of 7.5 with a lot of incentives to bump him into double digits.
by meercatjohn on Jan 20, 2010 12:20 PM PST up reply actions
Thats what I had thought and read in other places. The $10 Million guaranteed jumped out at me. I don’t have the time to do the digging, but anyone know what his last salary was?
That includes signing bonus
He got $11m as the final year of a 4-yr, $38.5m contract which bought out 2 FA years.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 12:33 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
It seems like he should get something similar to what Harden got from the Rangers. Maybe a little more.
Sheets
He’s the man right now. The Mets appear all but certain to land Pineiro [just a hunch!], leaving Sheets right there for the taking. Everybody’s saying we need a starter, we’ve gotten our arbitration cases settled, and we appear to have a little cash to spend. Sheets can either go after the biggest one-year deal he can land—which could approach $10 mil—or he can accept a little less now in exchange for a two-year deal with guaranteed 2011 money. I love the 2y/$22 idea floated earlier. With Kuroda gone next year, we could use something more than a one year fix.
*cringe
I'm nobody's fool, least of all yours
by BoulderDodger on Jan 20, 2010 1:56 PM PST up reply actions
Might the cheap FA starting pitcher dominoes begin to fall?
Doug Davis to the Brewers. From Adam McCalvy of MLB.com:
Hearing that #Brewers agreed with LHP Doug Davis on a 1-year deal with a mutual option for ’11. $5.25 million guaranteed. Pending physical
More details
from McCalvy:
Davis deal: $4.25 mm base salary for ’10 and $6.5 mm mutual option for ’11 with $1 mm buyout. $1 mm in incentives available each season
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 1:41 PM PST up reply actions
Because I doubt he’s able to be effective for a whole season.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 1:58 PM PST up reply actions
That could work for us
we have depth, we just don’t want to have to rely on Elbert/McDonald in Sept after a full year in the rotation. Sign Pedro/Smoltz and tag team em. Wish one was left handed.
More managers would do this if there was no such thing as the individual “win” designation. Team wins are all that matters but no starter in todays world would give up the ability to get the win.
Dodgers are playing the Reds in Vegas on March 31
split-squad game. From the press release:
The game on March 31 will feature a split-squad of Dodgers playing a night contest in Las Vegas , while the rest of the team will take on the San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch – Glendale in an afternoon Cactus League contest. On April 1, the Dodgers’ full squad will be back in Los Angeles for a 7:10 p.m. exhibition game at Dodger Stadium against the Cleveland Indians.
Will Pete Rose
… be managing for the Reds in that game? Or just watching from one of the lounges in town?
vr, Xei
I’m sure he’ll be selling autographs/memorabilia somewhere close by :)
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 3:12 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
710 ESPN
Ned Colletti is going to be on 710 ESPN with Mason & Ireland (actually, Brian Long is sitting in for John Ireland) at 5pm.
You can listen online here.
Making progress on a couple of bench players, and one pitcher, and could see one or two things happen in the next 7-10 days. Hasn’t talked to Garland last few weeks. Been in contact with Looper recently. Really talked up Padilla. Pineiro didn’t sound too likely, but he said you never know how negotiations will go down. Comfortable with young players battling for 5th spot. Wants team to be tougher, like phillies.
Payroll revision
Ethier gets a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $5.5million this year and $9.25 million in 2011.
CBS2/KCAL9
For the purposes of arb comps, don’t they spread the bonus equally across the years? That would make the split 5.75 / 9.5.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
From what I can gather, the multi-year deals aren’t used as much as comparison for one-year arb deals (which is different from what I’ve used in the past), making comps harder to come by.
by Eric Stephen on Jan 20, 2010 4:33 PM PST up reply actions
Right...
multi-year deals don’t equate to arb comps. Except for an agent trying to get close enough to what another player might have made. However, they can’t use those numbers for reference in their actual arbitration papers.
Man, that can really limit the sample points.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
by David Young on Jan 21, 2010 12:06 PM PST up reply actions
I was worried about this off-season but I think the Dodgers have so much to do in-house that was the most important thing. None of these guys were not going anywhere unless they got non-tendered I guess.
I just like that the Dodgers and the players agreed to contracts instead of having somebody rule in the favor of one and the other not being happy.
Dodgers still have an elite team even w/out Wolf, Hudson/Belliard at 2B.
I don’t know how Dewitt will perform but I like the Dodgers confidence in their rotation to have Kuroda bounce back and hopefully the talent of Kershaw and Bills will blossom this year so we wont miss Wolf.
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NL West Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Diego
|
76 | 59 | .562 | 0 | Lost 10 |
|
San Francisco
|
76 | 61 | .554 | 1 | Won 2 |
|
Colorado
|
72 | 64 | .529 | 4.5 | Won 3 |
|
Los Angeles
|
69 | 68 | .503 | 8 | Lost 2 |
|
Arizona
|
56 | 81 | .408 | 21 | Lost 2 |
(updated 9.5.2010 at 7:48 PM PDT)
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