DeWitt Named Starting Second Baseman; Haeger Named Fifth Starter
by Eric Stephen on Apr 1, 2010 4:19 PM PDT
in Los Angeles Dodgers Roster
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PrintThe final two major roster decisions have been made by manager Joe Torre, as Blake DeWitt has been named the starting second baseman and Charlie Haeger has been named the fifth starter, in moves just announced by the Dodgers (this time it's for real, not an April Fools joke).
"Over the long haul DeWitt needs to play everyday," said Torre, "Belliard and Carroll can play against left-handers...so we have flexibility. If someone gets hot, we'll find a spot for them." Torre also said the team initially played an April Fools prank on DeWitt this morning, telling him he had been optioned to Albuquerque. "He was joyed, relieved. That's as emotional as I've seen him in a long time," Torre said.
DeWitt made 19 spring starts at second base before tonight, has hit .339/.439/.546 this spring. Torre has said all spring that no matter who wins the second base job, there will be plenty of playing time for the other candidates, Ronnie Belliard and Jamey Carroll, who both bat right-handed, as opposed to the left-handed DeWitt.
Haeger made three starts for the Dodgers last season, pitching seven innings in two of them and getting roughed up in the other one. In 11.1 spring innings, the knuckleballer had a 2.38 ERA, with five strikeouts and 11 walks. The fifth spot in the rotation will pitch either April 10 or 11 in Florida. Torre said Haeger can pitch out of the bullpen if needed before his first start of the season.
In another roster move, Josh Towers, who gave up 10 runs in four innings last night, has been sent to Albuquerque.
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Speaking of April Fool Jokes
We initially pulled the April fools day prank on Blake. We told him he was going down, but we didn’t keep him there long. He was joyed, relieved. That’s as emotional as I’ve seen him in a long time.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Fine line playing
that joke on someone, you have to be sure they aren’t the type to go ballistic.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
How great would it have been if they called DeWitt into the office, and just turned their laptop so he could see it, and there was Phil’s story from this morning?
The link to the Carroll story is here. It’s not on the front page anymore since the April Fools joke (awesomely played by Phil IMO) has been usurped with real news.
This is the news I wanted to hear since Spring Training began
but now we can only hope we are as happy about it in June as we are today.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
I didn’t know if he was going with the ’68 Olympics clinched fist or the Stanley in “Friday” clinched fist. :)
John Carlos was the track coach and I.S.S. (in school suspension) monitor at my high school when I was there, so there’s that too!
I figured the first part. New here so I don’t get the Karim Garcia reference. But it’s cool, the new guys need to learn as they go. LOL
You will have to
make it to a picnic where all sorts of inside jokes are nurtured.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Figured as much
I live 1500 miles away so I will just become the dude that laughs at them but doesn’t understand…:)
.239/.322/.373
That is what Chase Utley managed to produce at age 24 in the majors. I feel confident predicting that that at the same age as Utley was then DeWitt will be the better MLB player.
I just posted that theory on DT a couple minutes ago. I’m going with they decided DeWitt was the starter in November, but signed Carroll and Belliard just to beef up the payoff of the joke.
Exactly. To spend this much money to get the chance to emotionally scar a young player just shows how much Frank is dedicated to winning. Do you think he has asked for his money back from Carroll yet?
hey, don't laugh- it worked for George Steinbrenner
look how many young players HE scarred (scared? eh, same thing) in the early 90’s before rebuilding his empire. You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs!
As a refresher
tonight’s lineups…
Indians:
Cabrera SS
Sizemore DH
Peralta 3B
Kearns RF
LaPorta 1B
Valbuena 2B
Redmond C
Brantley LF
Bixler CF
Carmona RHP
Dodgers:
Furcal SS
Kemp CF
Ethier RF
Ramirez LF
Loney 1B
Blake 3B
Anderson DH
Martin C
DeWitt 2B
Haeger RHP
That's a pretty darned good lineup btw
I like how the newly annointed 2nd baseman bats 8th, but that’s right, esp with Martin back. I like it.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Haeger
This is potentially the best news of the Spring. If he can show any kind of consistency, he’ll be a huge addition, and I laud the Dodgers for giving him a shot over some retread. Wakefield has been so valuable to the Red Sox – hopefully we have a Wakefield in Haeger.
Hopefully we have a Hough
we don’t need no stinking Red Sox to emulate.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Wakefield
is the Red Sox (a franchise that has been around for 109 years, mind you) all-time leader in starts, and he’s 3rd in wins, 2nd in strikeouts, and 3rd in innings (should be 1st after this year).
Of course, being there for so long, he is also the franchise leader in losses, hits, runs, earned runs, walks, homers, and wild pitches. :)
The odds are much better
That DeWitt will still be playing second in June rather than Haegar as the 5th starter.
Of course last year, we are on starter number 6 by the second or third week of the season.
I have this theory that I need to research
That 5th starters who are successful don’t remain as 5th starters. That is most teams don’t have 5 reliable starters every year, so lets say you have one that makes 25 or more starts. Chances are someone else in that rotation moves on and that guy moves up.
So that is why you see more re-threads there rather than AAAA guys because you really are more interested in the innings eaten part of the role rather than whether or not that guy has a chance to become a successful major league pitcher.
Anyway, its a theory that may or may not make a lot of sense.
you are right in a way
fifth starter is just a general term for fringe starting pitcher, it’s sort of like a flex position in fantasy :o
by Chad Moriyama on Apr 1, 2010 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh funny gag guys!
Come on, one fake post about 2nd baseman is enough!
;-)
But seriously, great news. Glad about Haeger, too, and glad they told him before the game tonight; nothing like feeling like you’re auditioning yet again to put more pressure on. Don’t screw this up Charlie! (j/k)
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
Congrats to
and
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
by underdog on Apr 1, 2010 5:10 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Thanks, though I hadn't intended it to look that
odd , like I’d created some bizarro hybrid person.
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
For instance
if it is now a situation where Torre/Colletti are deciding between 11 or 12 pitchers, and the decision is Russ Ortiz or Nick Green, well then they have just made me the biggest Nick Green fan in the world.
Vma approves!
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
It's double-good news
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
OT
I always laugh when I see the Belliard 209 jersey. It cracks me up to think that we’ve got a 2nd baseman that had a weight clause. Seems more fitting for a backup guard for the Seahawks during training camp.
I would bet money he is talking about Sons of Steve Garvey
From Josh Rawitch at Inside the Dodgers:
It sounds like Ned and Joe played an April Fool’s joke on Blake when they told him he got the job, so I can only imagine how that felt in his mind. I know I cringed today when I saw a Dodger blog drop an April Fool’s Joke on its readers, but I won’t spoil the surprise for those who haven’t figured it out yet.
Has to be the dance team(s). :)
I would've guessed this blog's joke
except for the last part of that sentence. Since there’s no surprise left to be had with the 2nd base joke. ;-)
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers/Lakers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants/Warriors country, and damned proud of it.
He could be out of date. I’m sure he doesn’t check this blog every 5 minutes. He’s still talking about what he saw this morning, and presumes it’s still up. Probably restoring it with the April Fools update, as David Young suggested, is the thing to do.
Not only did I suggest it; I did it. Screw Eric and his hiding stuff crap!
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
Give a guy power over a popular blog
and suddenly he becomes just another tool of ‘the man’. Say it ain’t so, Eric!
The SOSG bits are pretty darn funny
And not too hard on the eyes, but I didn’t think they really worked as an April Fool’s joke, because I didn’t think they could be believable for an instant. Phil’s joke had the a bit of a ring of truth to it, necessary for the “fool” part.
The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.
I'd rather look at VMA
then Jamey any day.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
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