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Dodgers 200 Prospect Countdown: 180 - 171

2009-11-18T21:39:42Z

As things are pretty dead around here, I figured I'd post the next part of my ranking. Hopefully some of the names will start sounding familiar, but I’m sure most are still unknowns to the majority of people. As a reminder, my ranking includes players in Dodgers minor league system who meets the following qualifications: (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2009, or were injured during the entire 2009 season; (2) is still within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) is under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2010; and (4) the player is still considered a prospect by Baseball America Standards, which means that pitchers must have less than 50 innings pitched in the majors, and hitters must have less than 130 at bats in the majors, regardless of service time. Also, remember that the players age I’ve listed is their age as of the start of the 2010 season. As always, feel free to discuss, comment, and let me know what you think.

180. Jose Ramirez, RF (51 Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’2”, 200 lbs, 21.5 years old, bats right handed

.213 average, 2 HR’s, 21 RBI’s, 10 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

I’m guessing that Jose Ramirez won’t be replacing Andre Ethier as the Dodgers right fielder anytime soon, as Ramirez hit just .213 in his first professional season. In addition, Ramirez is already 21 years old and only has 51 games under his belt, so his inexperience could be a problem as he moves up. His one strong point, however, seems to be his speed. He stole 10 bases on the year, with 8 of them coming in the month of June. Those 8 stolen bases in June were good for 3rd place among all Dodger minor leaguers for that month. In addition, at 6’2” and 200 lbs, Ramirez seems to have good size. He is also pretty versatile in the outfield, playing in both right and center field during the 2009 season. As for his future, I’m pretty sure the Dodgers will keep Jose in the Dominican Summer League for another year, even though he’ll be one of the oldest player in the league.

179. Adam Godwin, CF (95 games in AA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2005, 11th round

5’11”, 170 lbs, 27.25 years old, bats right handed

.254 average, 1 HR’s, 22 RBI’s, 13 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 145

Adam Godwin is definitely fast. How fast you may ask? Try 84 stolen bases in 93 attempts during his senior season at Troy State. That same season, Godwin hit .367 with 5 HR’s. Ever since his professional debut, however, Adam success has seemed to fade away. After hitting .310 in 2005 with the Ogden Raptors, Godwin has seen his game steadily decline. While he continued to steal bases from 2006 through 2008, even that tailed off in 2009 as he was limited to 95 games due to a crowded Lookout outfield. Besides his lack of playing time, Godwin’s biggest disadvantage is his age, as he will turn 27 before the start of the 2010 season. As Godwin looks toward his 6th professional season, he has to wonder if he will ever get the chance to play full time again. I see him as a part time player in AAA at best, but I think that he’ll start the 2010 season in AA for yet another season.

178. Jose Garcia, LHP (7.3 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

5’11”, 185 lbs, 18.75 years old

0-0, 13.50 ERA, 2.86 WHIP, 8.59 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Jose Garcia is a young lefty from the Dominican Republic who has a lot to learn before he’ll be a successful professional pitcher. In 2009, he was ridiculously wild, walking 14 batters in just over 7 innings, allowed way too many runs, and only pitched in 10 games. Despite these negative, however, Garcia showed flashes of success during 2009. He struck out almost one batter per inning, and allowed only a .259 batting average. In addition, Garcia was even able to pick up two saves in his limited appearances. Jose is only 5’11”, but given the fact that he is only 18 years old, maybe he’ll still grow an inch or two. He’ll return to the Dominican Summer League next year, and I’m assuming the Dodgers will try to get him some more innings than during 2009.

177. Kyle Wilson, RHP (Did not play in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2004, 22nd round

6’2”, 200 lbs, 26.75 years old

No stats for 2009

Prior Year Ranking: 128

Does anyone know what happened to Kyle Wilson during 2009? I had originally excluded him from my list because I thought he had been released, but then I saw on Baseball America that he had been reinstated from the DL at the end of the season, so I put him back in. Last year, I ranked Wilson a respectable #128 because the UCLA alum was actually extremely dominate in 2007 (1.09 ERA in 33 innings at Inland Empire), and then did pretty well in limited innings in 2008. However, as he has pitched just 22.2 innings over the past two season, and is now pushing 27 years old, I felt that I had to drop his ranking a little. His stats demonstrate that he has good stuff when healthy, but I have no idea how hard he throws or what kind of pitches he has. In 2004 at UCLA, he led the team with 12.5 strikeouts per 9 innings, so he most likely has a good “out pitch”. Wilson topped out in AA in 2008, and if healthy, will look to return to that level in 2010.

176. Jose Lugo, 1B (41 games in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’1”, 200 lbs, 19.75 years old, bats right handed

.223 average, 0 HR’s, 13 RBI’s, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Jose Lugo is a young player from Venezuela who made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2009. While his stats weren’t pretty, I’ll give the 19 year old Lugo a break because he was getting himself used to the life as a professional baseball player. In addition, I like the fact that Lugo improved as the season progressed, as he hit .206 in June, .238 in July, and .250 in August. However, the biggest negative about Lugo is that he didn’t show any speed or power in his game. Listed as a first baseman, Jose also played 12 games at catcher, which could potentially boost his value if he can continue to improve behind the plate.

175. David Iden, 2B (32 games in Pioneer League in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2009, 35th round

5’9”, 160 lbs, 23 years old, bats right handed

.239 average, 0 HR’s, 5 RBI’s, 5 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

A late round pick for the Dodgers in 2009 out of Cal Lutheran University, David Iden is the type of player who just wants to be given a chance. Upon being drafted by the Dodgers, Iden was “ecstatic... relieved…and anxious”. At Cal Lutheran, the Thousand Oaks native was a career .343 hitter, and ranked in the school’s top 10 for career RBI’s (100), runs scored (121), and stolen bases (63). However, upon arriving in professional baseball, Iden struggled to produce. He hit only .239 in 32 games, and only had 5 RBI’s. In addition, Iden proved that he wasn’t really a stolen base threat, as he was caught stealing 6 times in 11 attempts. At 5’9”, Iden is the perfect size for a 2nd baseman, but must step up his game if he wants to make an impact with the Dodgers. Also, at 23 years old, time is against David, so I’m going to guess that he’ll play at Lo-A or Hi-A in 2010.

174. Luis Vasquez, RHP (58.3 innings in Pioneer League, 12.7 innings in HiA in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 10/20/03

6’4”, 155 lbs, 24 years old

3-5, 5.96 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 6.46 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 130

I’m actually a little confused about Luis Vasquez, because when I look him up on the minor league baseball website, it now shows that his parent club is the Colorado Rockies. It does make some sense, since he has been with the Dodgers for over 6 years and was probably a minor league free agent (although he wasn’t listed as one at Baseball America). However, it seems strange that he signed so quickly with another club. Whatever the case, Vasquez wasn’t the greatest player anyways, so he wouldn’t be a big loss. After putting up respectable numbers in 2008, albeit with a low strikeout rate, Vasquez was rocked in Hi-A before getting demoted to the Pioneer League. He continued to struggle with Ogden, allowing 8 HR’s to lead the team, and posting a 5.09 ERA. Stats aside, Vasquez is a tall and skinny ball player who has yet to fill out his lanky frame. He’ll be 24 years old at the start of the 2010 season, and I have no idea where his future lies.

173. Luis Mesa, RHP (29.7 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’4”, 170 lbs, 19.75 years old

0-3, 6.37 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 5.16 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Luis Mesa is another young player from Venezuela who debuted with the Dominican Dodgers in 2009. While his ERA and WHIP weren’t great, a closer look at his numbers show that he actually had a fairly successful first professional season. His FIP was actually a respectable 4.26, and his ground ball percentage of 64% was tops on the Dominican Dodgers. That ground ball percentage demonstrates that he probably pitches with sink, and has the ability to induce quite a few ground balls, which generally make a pitcher successful. A lanky right handed pitcher, Mesa has a great pitchers frame, and will hopefully gain some weight over the next few years. I expect the Dodgers to hang onto Mesa, and I’m sure he’ll return to the Dominican Summer League next season. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made an appearance in a U.S. based rookie league at some point in 2011.

172. Rafael Ynoa, 2B (35 games in Pioneer League, 14 games in HiA, 2 games in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2006

5’10”, 162 lbs, 22.5 years old, bats right handed

.163 average, 0 HR’s, 9 RBI’s, 5 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 89

I may have whiffed on my ranking of Ynoa last year. I had ranked him 89th last year because he was coming off a season where he hit .306, which led the GCL Dodgers. However, I should have taken a look at his prior year numbers more closely and realized that his 2008 season was a fluke, and not a breakout season. Ynoa hit .259 in 2006 and just .206 in 2007, and hadn’t shown any previous power. So really, his struggles in 2009 are nothing new. He started the 2009 season in Hi-A, but was absolutely awful through 37 at bats, hitting just .054. So the Dodgers demoted him to the Pioneer League in June, but he wasn’t much better. Also, he must have gotten injured at some point during his stay in Ogden because he finished up the season on a rehab assignment back in the Arizona Rookie League. Overall, Ynoa had a very forgettable season in 2009, and at 22 and a half, this prototypical 2nd baseman is going to have to do something special in 2010 to make a name for himself.

171. Amauri Guzman, RHP (13.3 innings in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 3/30/05

6’3”, 200 lbs, 23.5 years old

0-0, 3.38 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 8.78 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 178

Even though Amauri Guzman is just 23 years old, he has already seen his baseball career take quite a few twists and turns. After signing with the Dodgers as an outfielder in March of 2005 out of the Dominican Republic, Amauri actually played his first few professional games in the Gulf Coast League before finishing the season in the Dominican Summer League. In 2006, Guzman spent the entire season in the DSL. In 2007, Guzman was promoted up to the Gulf Coast League, still as an outfielder, where he hit a respectable .310. Then, for whatever reason, Guzman was converted to a pitcher, and spent all of 2008 back in the DSL, posting a horrid 9.64 ERA. Nevertheless, the Dodgers decided to bring Amauri back to the U.S. again in 2009, and let him pitch in the Arizona Rookie League. I’ve never heard of any other prospect going back and forth between the U.S. based and foreign rookie leagues so many different times. Anyways, Guzman performed surprising well in 2009, although he was limited to just 13 and one third innings. With less than 28 innings of professional pitching experience, however, I’m not sure how the 23 year old will ever be able to move fast enough to make an impact in the Dodgers system, but the one thing he does have going for him is that he does have a good pitching frame. If healthy, he’ll probably move up to Lo-A in 2010.

2nd base Dodger rumors

2009-11-11T18:46:21Z

We all know we have a hole at 2nd base so plenty of rumors coming our way.

1. Alberto Callaspo for AJ Ellis - on the surface that seems quite improbable however according to Plus/Minus Callaspo was the worse fielding 2nd baseman in baseball last year, and evidently AJ Ellis is quite revered for his glove.UZR also had Alberto as a -7 so we might be able to agree that Callaspo had a bad year defensively in 2009. Is that enough to negate an .813 OPS? In 2010 Bill James expects him to regress back to .755 with an wOBA of .333.

2. Kevin Kennedy said he heard the Dodgers are kicking the tires on Uggla. Uggla should be able to maintain his .800 - .825 OPS but again we are talking about a terrible fielding 2nd baseman who is about to get expensive.

3. MLBTR picked the Dodgers as the landing place for Felipe Lopez. Future offense probably very close to Callaspo but a plus defensively according to UZR in 2009. However in 2008 he was a negative so his defensive metrics have not been very consistent.

4. Jamie Carrol - surely as a backup and not as the main guy, right?

5. Luis Castillo - swap of bad contracts. He's 34, bad wheels, no power, only skill left is OB. He's what DeJesus would be except DeJesus is 12 years younger and would cost nothing. I'd much rather give away Pierre and eat 1/2 his contract then take on two years of Castillo. But hey, it could be worse.

Add to the list as the winter rumors continue to swirl.

Dodgers 200 Prospect Countdown: 190 - 181

2009-11-11T16:44:35Z

Here is the next part of my Dodger prospect countdown. As a reminder, my ranking includes players in Dodgers minor league system who meets the following qualifications: (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2009, or were injured during the entire 2009 season; (2) is still within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) is under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2010; and (4) the player is still considered a prospect by Baseball America Standards, which means that pitchers must have less than 50 innings pitched in the majors, and hitters must have less than 130 at bats in the majors, regardless of service time. Also, remember that the players age I’ve listed is their age as of the start of the 2010 season. As always, feel free to discuss, comment, and let me know what you think.

190. Keyter Collado, C (9 games in Pioneer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 5/27/04

5’11”, 178 lbs, 23.75 years old, bats right handed

.273 average, 0 HR’s, 5 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 154

Collado is another young catcher in the Dodgers system who hasn’t amounted to much. After back to back successful seasons in 2006 and 2007, in which he was even named to the GCL post season all star team (in 2007), Collado has only played in 32 games over the past two years. I’m not sure what has limited Collado over that time, but the 23 year old is running out of time to impress. The one thing I noticed about Collado in 2009 was that he had a ridiculous ground ball percentage of 79%. Granted it was only through 9 games, but still, I’ve never seen a ground ball percentage that high. Overall, Collado has yet to play above rookie ball, so if he does return in 2010, he be a 24 year old either returning to rookie ball, or playing at Lo-A for the first time.

189. Noel Acevedo, LHP (4 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

5’11”, 160 lbs, 19.75 years old

0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2.25 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

When players debut for the Dodgers in the Dominican Summer League, they are generally 18 years old or younger. Noel Acevedo, however, was 19 when he threw his first pitch for the Dominican Dodgers, and then went on to appear in only three games, probably due to injury. In those three games, Noel didn’t have very good stats, as he walked 4 and only had one strikeout. In addition, Acevedo is only 5’11” and 160 pounds, so I can’t imagine that he will ever develop into a significant prospect, even though he is a lefty. So basically my ranking of Acevedo is based on his inexperience going into his 20 year old season, and his lack of impressive makeup.

188. Rafael Aybar, 2B (Did not play in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 4/9/07

6’0”, 160 lbs, 19.75 years old, switch hitter

No stats for 2009

Prior Year Ranking: 148

First of all to clarify, Rafael Aybar is not related to former Dodgers infielder Willy Aybar or Angels infielder Erick Aybar. That being said, last year I thought that Aybar had some potential as a 2nd baseman because he had some speed, and had shown an improvement to his overall game when compared to the prior year. However, before the 2009 season, Aybar was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for the steroid boldenone. In fact, even though the DSL season is longer than 50 games, Aybar ended up missing the entire year. This will not only hurt his development, but also has put him in the doghouse with Dodger management. You can’t blame the guy for trying to get ahead in such a competitive environment, but steroids are obviously not the way to go. When the 2010 season begins, he’ll already be almost 20 years old, so he’ll have to make up for lost time quickly. My guess is that his career is pretty much finished.

187. Gabriel Gutierrez, C (33 games in AA in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2002

5’11”, 190 lbs, 26.25 years old, bats right handed

.267 average, 0 HR’s, 14 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 161

Gabriel Gutierrez is an interesting case. One of the few Mexican born players in the Dodgers minor league system, Gabriel returns to Mexico to play baseball any chance he gets. In addition to playing in the Mexican Winter League for the past three seasons (where he has struggled, especially in 2008), Gutierrez was actually loaned to the Mexican League by the Dodgers during the 2009 regular season. No matter where he has played, however, Gutierrez hasn’t had very good results. While he holds his own as a catcher, Gabriel doesn’t project to be a starter in the minor leagues, let alone in the majors. He has never shown any power whatsoever, and obviously has no speed. He will be 26 years old next season, and while he has worked his way up to AA, I don’t see him being promoted beyond that.

186. Johan Garcia, 3B (40 games in HiA, 12 games in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 4/19/05

6’0”, 170 lbs, 23.5 years old, bats right handed

.189 average, 0 HR’s 10 RBI’s, 13 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 155

After spending two season in the Dominican Summer League, and then two more seasons in the Dodgers U.S. based rookie leagues, Johan Garcia finally got a chance to prove himself in Hi-A after he was promoted to the California League in July of 2009. Unfortunately, his promotion was far from memorable. In 111 at bats, Garcia hit. 162 with only 4 RBI’s. While he may have been a little unlucky with his .205 batting average for balls in play, that is no excuse. His only asset is his speed, but even that isn’t overly impressive. At 23 and a half years old, Garcia is running out of time to impress. I’m sure he’ll return to Hi-A again next year, but I doubt he’ll ever have the chance to play every day.

185. Edward Bens, 1B (41 games in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 2/9/07

6’1”, 189 lbs, 21 years old, bats right handed

.266 average, 1 HR, 14 RBI’s, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: 132

Even though I thought Edward Bens would move to a U.S. based rookie league in 2009, the Dodgers decided to keep him the Dominican Summer League for a third straight year. And I guess the Dodgers were right to keep him there, as Bens only had a mediocre season in 2009, even though he was one of the oldest and most experienced players in the league. In addition, Bens saw his stock drop significant because he no longer appears to be a true catcher. Last season he played 35 of his 41 games behind the plate. In 2009, however, he only caught 18 games, while playing 23 at 1st base or DH. The one thing that Bens has going for him is that he doesn’t strike out very much. He K’d in less than 10% of his plate appearances in 2009, which was one of the best rates in the Dodgers minor league system. Looking to the future, I can’t image that Bens will stay in the Dominican League for a 4th year, so I suspect he’ll finally make it the U.S.

184. Gari Tavarez, RHP (18.7 innings in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2006

6’0”, 170 lbs, 22.25 years old

0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 9.64 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 149

While Tavarez didn’t exactly dominate in 2008, I still thought that the Dodgers would give him a chance in the Pioneer League in 2009. However, the Dodgers decided to put Gari in the Arizona League, and it looks like they made the right decision. While Tavarez wasn’t quite as bad as his stats may lead one to believe (his FIP was a respectable 3.75 and he struck more than one batter per inning), he was far from impressive. In fact, his 6.75 ERA was a far cry from the 1.49 ERA he posted in 2007 in the Dominican Summer League. I’m not sure why he was limited to just over 18 innings, but this undersized pitcher is running out of time as he is a 22 year old who has yet to play above rookie ball.

183. Christian Lara, SS (115 games in HiA in 2009)

Acquired via trade with Red Sox in April 2008 for Eric Hull

5’11, 150 lbs, 24.75 years old, switch hitter

.256 average, 6 HR’s, 46 RBI’s, 11 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 200

I should apologize to Christian Lara. Last year, I ranked Lara dead last in my top 200 ranking. After further review, however, I realized that Lara wasn’t quite as bad as I had originally thought, and I also realized that there were other players who were more deserving of last place on my list. In fact, while browsing through the old Baseball America archives, I discovered that Lara was once a legitimate prospect. In 2003, Lara was the Red Sox player of the year for their Dominican Summer League. In 2004, Lara was actually ranked the 9th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League after hitting .433 in 60 at bats. During that season, Lara apparently had “good on-base ability and speed and focuses on getting the most out of those tools”. Now that I got my apology out of the way, I will say that Lara still isn’t a very good player. He made the third most errors of any Dodger minor leaguer with 25, and struck out 4 times for every walk. He did show a little more speed and power in 2009, but those are both functions of him repeating in the California League, as he has much more experience in the league than the other players. I can’t see Lara as anything more than a bench player for Hi-A or AA in 2010.

182. Jean Eusebio, RHP (21.7 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 10/12/07

6’1”, 195 lbs, 20.75 years old

0-0, 4.15 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 7.48 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 174

After playing catcher in 2008, Jean Eusebio took the Kenly Jansen route and made the transition to the mound during the 2009 season. For a guy with no pitching experience, Eusebio was relatively successful. Playing in the Dominican Summer League, his 3.91 FIP was even better than his 4.15 ERA, and his strikeout rate was respectable. His only ugly stat was his WHIP, which was a function of his 15 walks in less than 22 innings. I’m not sure what 2010 will bring for Jean Eusebio. He will be 21 years old during most of next season, and will probably return to the DSL to continue his growth as a pitcher. He has the size to succeed, but he’s going to have to make great strides in the next 12 months to get his name on the Dodger prospect map.

181. Marlon Urriola, RHP (2 innings in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 5/25/06

6’2”, 165 lbs, 21.75 years old

0-1, 13.50 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, 13.50 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 117

After pitching 3 seasons in the Dominican Summer League, the Dodgers fulfilled my prediction and decided to give Marlon Urriola a chance to play in a U.S. based league in 2009. Unfortunately, his 2009 U.S. debut lasted only 2 innings, which was spread over two days in late June. I can honestly say that I have no idea why Marlon only pitched in two games in 2009, but I can only assume it was due to injury. The good news, however, is that Marlon will only be 21 years old at the start of the 2010 season, so he has plenty of time to make up for his lost time. At 6’2”, Marlon has a solid right handed frame, and hopefully he can stay healthy in 2010 and put together a solid season (while mostly likely repeating in the Arizona Rookie League).

2009 NL Gold Glove Award Winners

2009-11-11T14:55:14Z

These aren't anywhere else yet that I know of.

My friend is associated with the MLB and said he got this passed down to him this morning.

NL Gold Glove Winners

P - Adam Wainwright
C - Yadier Molina
1B - Adrian Gonzalez
2B - Orlando Hudson
3B - Ryan Zimmerman
SS - Jimmy Rollins
OF - Shane Victorino
OF - Matt Kemp
OF - Michael Bourn

More details about the full voting at my site, if you care.

http://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2009/11/matt-kemp-and-orlando-hudson-among-nl.html

If it's wrong, it's not my fault. :o

Lookouts Win Promotional Award From MiLB

2009-11-10T22:37:32Z

The Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double A affiliate of the Dodgers, won the 2009 Larry MacPhail Trophy from Minor League Baseball, which recognizes the club with the top promotional efforts throughout the season. From the press release:

The club sent two people, dressed as knights, around town with pocket schedules and a sign which read "Two Knights Game at AT&T Field is at 7:15." The popularity of the idea resulted in an advertising campaign built around the knights throughout the season. Chattanooga also added "Blooie" to its stable of mascots in 2009. This diminutive blue mascot compliments the club's iconic red "Looie" and one of his duties is to lead the crowd in the "3.5 Inning Stretch," where only half of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is played and sung.

Here's a shot of Looie the Lookout:

via images.chattanoogan.com

Mark Cuban interested in Dodgers

2009-11-10T00:51:32Z

Apparently, Mark Cuban's attempt to buy a baseball team is not over. He now says that he would be interested in buying the Dodgers if the right situation came up. Right now, I am very conflicted about how to react to this. First of all, the negatives of this are that he is straight up one of the most controversial owners in any sport. But there are many positives to this. First, the McCourts recent divorce has created negative attention the Dodgers don't want and now limits the Dodgers financially. Secondly, Cuban is crazy rich off the stock market and we would be virtually limitless in our spending. However, the last thing I want is to become the next Yankees just buying our way through baseball. Or ever worse, the Redskins, atttempt to buy our way and fail.

Poll

Would having Mark Cuban buy the Dodgersbe a good or bad thing?

Disenchanted Blue Jays Fan Looking For A New Team

2009-11-09T18:35:27Z

I'm a disenchanted Toronto Blue Jays Fan, looking for a new team. Ownership decisions and a general aimlessness in the direction of the team has caused me to consider abandoning the Jays after 25 years of cheering for them.

My search has narrowed to the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and your Los Angeles Dodgers.

I am looking for a MLB team that has ownership committed to winning, a group of players worth cheering for, and a reasonable shot at competing for the playoffs sometime in the next 10 years.

Convince me (with defensible reasons) why I should join you. Go!

CLUTCH!™: Pulls Through to Win World Series: Overacheiving vs. Godzilla, Mediocrity, Voodoo, and Luck Narated by Screamin' Jay

2009-11-02T20:06:32Z

via images.uulyrics.com

via www.nomaas.org

via download.lavadomefive.com

via jimbicentral.typepad.com

PART II: WS Epilogue

Even though the Phils kept on out-gritting the Yanks with a World Series OPS of 0.782 (regular season 0.781) and the gritty Phils pitching staff (OPS against regular season 0.781) held the Yanks (who hit 0.839 in the regular season) to 0.725 in the postseason, that New York Yankee CLUTCH!™ came through and trumped all that Grittiness, Superior Offense (and by definition superior pitching), and Lack of Veteran Leadership (Measured by Ks obtained by team hitting).

via photos.upi.com

Although Matsui Godzilla won the MVP with his WHOPPING GODZILLAESQUE 2.027 OPS, 3 HR, 1 BB, and 8 RBIs

via www.stomptokyo.com

playing 48% of the series (compared to Jeeter, 24% if you count defense), it may have been more apt to have given the award to the guy who really put them over the top, Jorge Posada,

via images.sportsbybrooks.com

who stepped up with 5 RBIs with 5 hits, 2BB, 0 HRs and a decidedly non Godzilla-like 0.634 OPS. Jorge, by the authority I’m assuming Major Leauge Baseball has given me but forgot to inform me about, I bestow upon you the 2009 WORLD SERIES CLUTCHY!™ Good job Jorge, you the man.

You deserve this.

via www.latina.com

CLUTCH!™ showed that the New York Yankees PLAY THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY and were the team with the most HEART!

It can be truely said that 2009 world Series was the ultimate example of CLUTCH!™ trumping all other factors. If you ever find yourself argueing with your freinds about whether Grit or CLUTCH!™ is more important, you have to look no further than to pull the 2009 World Series as the ULTIMATE EXAMPLE of CLUTCH!™ trumping Grit.

VOODOO UP MLB VOOODOO UP!

via www.telfordswarehousechester.com

Voodooist Nations

   1. Benin; state religion, and it accounts for the majority of the populous, at 7 million.
   2. Ghana
   3. Togo
   4. Haiti; probably accounts for the most Voodoo practitioners in that region.
   5. Dominican Republic
   6. Puerto Rico
   7. Cuba
   8. Brazil

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Voodoo

Just sayn’!

Stats that Matter:

2009 World Series Game 4
NY Yanks AB-R-H-RBI-BB-SO
J Posada 3 -0 -1---3----1--2

via rdr.zazzle.com

Part I: Dodger Epilogue

Its no secret what the Dodgers lacked: CLUTCH!™ (™ Major league baseball)

Before we go out and scrap the team for divorce lawyer money, perhaps we should look into keeping these guys and increasing the Voodoo budget.

via www.blog.julians.name

That and teach the pitchers how to throw strikes.

Some random analysis of NLCS vs. World Series Performances. Dodger hitting worse than Yanks, but not by much. Yanks better CLUTCH!™ hitting.

Phils offense superior to everyone but CLUTCH!™ phailing in World Series is the big difference (or it could be said Yankee pitching performance better than Dodger's).

Phils Hitting vs Yanks compared to vs. Dodgers
	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Hits/IP	Walks/IP	Runs/IP	Clutchyness ((Runs/IP) / OPS)	Clutchyness Ratio (Cl team / Cl weakest team)	OPS Ratio (OPS/ OPS weekest team)	Clutch? (Clutchness Ratio > OPS Ratio)	Clutch Rankings
Phil Hitting Vs Yanks	0.22	0.297	0.447	0.744	0.806	0.417	0.444	0.597	1.063	1.150	No	3
Phil HittingVs. Dodgers	0.231	0.348	0.5	0.848	0.853	0.545	0.829	0.978	1.740	1.311	Yes	1

Phils Pitching vs Yanks compared to vs. Dodgers
	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Hits/IP	Walks/IP	Runs/IP
Yanks Hitting vs. Phils	0.235	0.311	0.394	0.705	0.886	0.278	0.528	0.749	1.332	1.090	Yes	2
Dodger Hitting vs. Phils	0.232	0.287	0.36	0.647	0.864	0.273	0.364	0.562	1.000	1.000	No	4

Phils Hitting vs Yanks compared to vs. Dodgers
	Clutchyness ((Runs/IP) / OPS)	Clutchyness Ratio (Cl team / Cl weakest team)	OPS Ratio (OPS/ OPS weekest team)	Clutch? (Clutchness Ratio > OPS Ratio)	Clutch Rankings
Phil Hitting Vs Yanks	0.597	1.063	1.150	No	3
Phil HittingVs. Dodgers	0.978	1.740	1.311	Yes	1

Phils Pitching vs Yanks compared to vs. Dodgers

Yanks Hitting vs. Phils	0.749	1.332	1.090	Yes	2
Dodger Hitting vs. Phils	0.562	1.000	1.000	No	4

UPDATES TO INCLUDE MORE DEAD AIR AVOIDANCE PERFORMANCE FACTORS

OK, updates per request.

Heart, Ha! that's easy

Team	Heart (Postseason wins)	Rank
Dodgers	5	3
Phils	9	2
Yanks	11	1

Veteran Leadership

Again, not much of a challenge

	Veteran Leadership (K/IP)	Veteran Leadership Ranking
Phil Hitting Vs Yanks	1.000	2
Phil HittingVs. Dodgers	0.782	3
Yanks Hitting vs. Phils	1.171	1
Dodger Hitting vs. Phils	0.750	4

NYY clearly have the highest veteran leadership. Dodgers, not so much.

Grit takes a little more work.

Grittiness Performance	Regular season OPS	Post-season OPS	Grit (Post-Season OPS / Regular Season OPS)	Gritty (Post Season OPS > Regular Season OPS)	Grit Ranking
Dodgers vs Phils	0.758	0.647	0.854	N	3
Phils vs Dodgers	0.781	0.848	1.086	Y	1
Phils vs Yanks	0.781	0.744	0.953	N	2
Yanks vs Phils	0.839	0.705	0.84	N	4

Phils win grit contest NLCS. World Series, no grit there, must be a pitcher's duel, let's look at Pitching Grit:

Grittiness Performance	Post-season OPS allowed	Regular season opponent's OPS	Grit (Post-Season OPS / Regular Season OPS)	Gritty (Post Season OPS < Regular Season OPS)	Grit Ranking
Phils Pitching vs. Dodgers	0.647	0.758	0.854	Yes	2
Dodger Pitching vs. Phils	0.848	0.781	1.086	No	4
Yanks Pitching vs. Phils	0.744	0.781	0.953	Yes	3
Phils Pitching vs Yanks	0.705	0.839	0.84	Yes	1

Phils are clearly the Grittiest team. Too bad they don't have any Heart.

It's Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

2009-11-07T04:01:20Z

Indulge me if you will…

I have zero experience running a pro sports franchise (making me glaringly similar to the McCourts before they bought the Dodgers, but that's not the point of this post), but I do have a bit of experience with divorce.

Like the McCourts, my parents divorced after over 24 years of marriage (25 in their situation). You would hope that a couple of 40-something adults (in the McCourt's case, 50-somethings) would be able to act as civil human beings and keep in mind the feelings of the other family members also affected by this traumatic event. In my parents' situation, this simply didn't factor into anything. My four siblings and I were casualties in the nastiness that went on between my parents, and while we were somewhat spared in the aftermath because we didn't "choose sides", I was truly amazed how some of my uncles (my mom's brothers) were ostracized because they actually acted civilly to my dad; someone whom they had known and come to love for almost 30 years.

My point in this post is not for sympathy, but to hopefully help all of you here at TBLA understand that we have not even begun to see how bad it is going to get. It is embarrassing now; it will turn to ugly before we know it.

For all the crap Frank McCourt has taken among some of the local media (hello, TJ Simers), I believe that he has done an awesome job in his tenure owning the Dodgers. He has invested in a baseball shrine, Dodger Stadium, that was, quite frankly, growing somewhat under disrepair under previous owners (including Peter O’Malley). He re-did parking and got hammered for it but, other than sellouts, it’s actually easier to get in and out of Dodger Stadium than it has been in the past. He improved bathrooms (which were getting scary) and replaced 56,000 seats. The team has improved dramatically under his ownership. He brought in a HOF Manager. I don’t know about you, but before the divorce crap hit the news I was feeling extremely better about the Dodgers and their potential than I was before he got here.

The above paragraph is not a pro-Frank, anti-Jamie statement. My point is we’re in the middle of what I think is a Dodger re-awakening. And I am, or was, damn excited about it.

But today I sit here and wonder what the hell is really going to happen with this team. My beloved Dodgers are on the edge of jumping into the upper tier of baseball, and have the potential to be there for awhile. Unfortunately, given the crap of the past few weeks all that has the potential to crumble before our very eyes.

So what do I see? A few options:

1. Dodgers declared community property and they are forced to sell the team. Pray for Mark Cuban in this scenario. No, he hasn’t won in Dallas but who the hell were the Mavericks before he showed up? Also pray for no Daniel Snyder wannabe.

2. Frank keeps them, but loses his ass in the divorce and has to sell a stake. Peter O’Malley, anybody? Or how about Philip Anschutz? I’m fine with both.

3. Jamie gets them in an upset. Gulp. Sorry, but I don’t see the positive here. I’ve never heard her really say anything that screamed “leader”. Frank may piss me off and come off very whiney sometimes, but he’s a big step up from her.

I’m sure there are other options, but even the ones above spell trouble for my team. We’re 3 months away from pitchers and catchers reporting. And my upgraded optimism about the team of my youth is getting worn down each and every day.

An apology of sorts

2009-11-04T08:01:31Z

I was never a McCourt apologist (or a Colletti collaborator) but I often found myself trying to put myself in their place with respect to how the Dodgers operated their team. I believe the first moment I went one way and most everyone else went somewhere else was the Pierre signing. Not that I agreed with the price and the years but generally my point was that I understood why they made that deal.

I believe for Frank McCourt, the Jason Schmidt and in particular, the Andruw Jones deals were something that changed his tune about the future operations of the ball club. With Schmidt rehabbing (in the second year of a three year/$48M deal) and Jones becoming person non grata with his two year/$40M deal (and full disclosure, I liked both of those deals), Frank McCourt decided to go on the cheap. Which to a certain extent, at that time, I could see why, more than thirty percent of your payroll (along with others like Nomar and Kent being in and out), not playing and worst yet, one player is so unpopular, people appear to boo him no matter what he does. However, I think McCourt let it get personal and that was wrong.

Now as we move towards the off-season and all that mess, I say to all my friends here, I'm sorry that I tried to logically figure out what the Dodgers were doing because as we begin to see behind the curtains, it as if are worst fears may be true.

And while, I certainly believe every person deserves their day in court, I think it was poorly chosen forum to basically take their private lives and shove it in front of the millions of fans who one, don't want to get involved in a family matter but more importantly, don't want that family matter to harm their team.

Last week, I had the pleasure of going to Opening Night for the Clippers with Phil, and we spent a fair amount of time talking about this and in the end, I said that for the fans, it will probably be best if the team is declared community property since that would probably force an outside buyer. However if the analysis of Josh at DodgerDivorce.com is accurate, I would guess that MLB will require the next owner of the Dodgers have to come up with a great deal of the purchase price in cash, if the McCourts owe more than $500M on the notes, they could very well lose whatever equity they have or at least may only split $100M or so, which is not bad but they would also no longer own those nice pieces of property in Boston anymore.

Again, how this affects the team on the field, I don't know, there really isn't much I think they were going to do anyway. But my eyes are wide open and I reading everything with interest. Just remember folks, litigation is not about justice and the truth, its about winning.

My Dodgers Top 200 "Prospect" Ranking

2009-11-06T03:50:15Z

Welcome to the most comprehensive analysis of the Dodgers minor league system. For the next few months, I am going to provide a summary of every player in the Dodgers minor league system who meets the following qualifications: (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2009, or was injured during the entire 2009 season; (2) is still with within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) is under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2010; and (4) the player is still considered a prospect by Baseball America Standards, which means that pitchers must have less than 50 innings pitched in the majors, and hitters must have less than 130 at bats in the majors. Like Baseball America, I do not take into account service time, and therefore it is possible that I have included prospects who will not technically be rookies in 2010 (i.e. Brent Leach).

The players are going to be listed by how I rank them as a prospect. Just like last year, the list is almost exactly 200 players, and I will start from #200 (actually, #201 this year), and work my way to who I think is the #1 prospect in the Dodgers system. I’ve included where each prospect played in 2009, how each was acquired by the Dodgers, their height, weight, and age as of the start of the 2010 season, and finally their 2009 combined minor league statistics. Also, since this is my second year completing these rankings, I’ll include my prior year ranking, my review of how accurate I was during my prior year ranking, and obviously a current year discussion about the player. I will generally post 10 players at a time, and will try to post at least once a week. The first 100 players will probably be unknown to most people, but look at it as a way to get to know the Dodgers minor league system even better. Feel free to discuss, comment, and let me know what you think.

**As an FYI, I am also posting this list in the Dodgers section of the Scout.com forum (as I did last year), but given that a lot of people who read True Blue LA do not go to Scout.com, I thought I'd post my list here as well

201. Taiwan Perry, LF (18 games in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’0”, 185 lbs, 21.75 years old, bats right handed

.050 average, 0 HR’s, 2 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

There are two questions that surround Taiwan Perry: where did he come from, and how can anyone be that bad? While I can’t provide too much insight on either of these questions, I can tell you that based on his myspace and twitter accounts, he likes Kim Kardashian, was a Reds fan growing up, and fell in love for the first time at age 16. In regards to baseball, I really don’t know where he came from, and I’m assuming the Dodgers saw him play somewhere and decided to sign him to fill out their rookie league roster. The only thing that was somewhat interesting about him during last season was that I wanted to see how low his average could go. He didn’t get his first hit until August 10th, and by August 25th I believe his average was at.031. But then, he unfortunately got a hit in his 2nd to last game of the season, and ended the year batting .050. Needless to say he has no future with the Dodgers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t return in 2010.

200. Parker Dalton, 3B (55 games in LoA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2007, 24th round

6’1”, 185 lbs, 26.75 years old, bats right handed

.169 average, 1 HR’s, 14 RBI, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: 195

I ranked Parker Dalton #195 last season, and I think my assessment of his baseball skills was right on. Dalton had a bad 2008, and an even worse 2009. He has no power, can’t hit for average, and strikes out way too much (27.3% of plate appearances in 2009). However, I can’t help but like Dalton as a person. His teammates call him Pops because they say he is wise beyond his years. In addition, he has overcome melanoma, a very serious type of skin cancer, which is why he started his professional baseball career at such an advanced age. I think that Dalton was more of a player/coach for the Loons during 2009, and I believe that he may have that same role in the future.

199. Esteban Lopez, C (49 games in LoA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2006, 25th round

6’1”, 210 lbs, 25.75 years old, bats right handed

.203 average, 3 HR’s, 22 RBI’s, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: 169

Esteban Lopez has always had the reputation as a strong defensive catcher who can’t hit. During his two years at the University of Hawaii, he only made four errors, yet hit .260 as a senior. Unfortunately this trend has continued into his professional career. He hit .243 in 2008, and just .203 in 2009. His horrid average can partially be attributed to his extremely low batting average for balls in play (.245), but I think the bigger problem is that he just can’t hit. Last year I said he had a good build for a catcher, and would probably get a chance to prove himself in HiA. Well, he still has a good catchers body, but he played in LoA instead of HiA, and obviously did nothing to prove himself. Even my #169 ranking last year was probably a little too high, which is why I dropped him to the very bottom this year. At 25 years old, the only reason the Dodgers may keep him in their system is to help out with all the pitchers during Spring Training.

198. Geraldo Martinez, LHP (6 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 10/23/07

6’0”, 162 lbs, 22 years old

0-2, 9.00 ERA, 2.17 WHIP, 4.50 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 156

Last year, I talked about how Martinez had a good second half in 2008, and how if he had a good 2009, he’d have a chance to play in the U.S. in 2010. Well, he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. I’m not sure why Geraldo Martinez was only limited to 6 innings in 2009, but whatever the reason, it really hurt Geraldo’s progress and basically killed any chance he had to make it with the Dodgers. When the 2010 season starts, Geraldo will be a 22 year old with 23 innings of professional experience (all in the DSL). That being said, he may not even warrant another look, so he may not even be back with the team next season.

197. Ryan Arp, C (17 games in Arizona League, 1 game in AAA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2008, 45th round

6’0”, 185 lbs, 24.25 years old, bats right handed

.167 average, 1 HR’s, 8 RBI, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 176

Not much has changed for Ryan Arp from 2008 to 2009, so I’m going to repeat some of the information from last year. Arp was the Dodgers very last draft pick in the 2008 draft, and he ended up signing with the team because he had already graduated from Upper Iowa University. It’s actually surprising that he was even drafted at all because he only hit .208 during his senior year, but apparently he is a pretty good defensive catcher. After a respectable showing in the Pioneer Rookie League in 2008, the Dodgers demoted Arp to the Arizona Rookie League for the majority of 2009 where he was awful. Nevertheless, the Dodgers picked Arp when they needed a backup catcher in AAA after AJ Ellis was promoted to the majors. He played in one game in September, and then was probably a reserve on the Isotopes playoff roster. Overall, despite his cameo in AAA, Arp has no chance to make it to the majors, but may continue to help out a few young pitchers along the way by playing solid defense behind the plate.

196. Irvit Mendez, RHP (1.3 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2008

6’6”, 225 lbs, 19.75 years old

0-0, 27.00 ERA, 8.25 WHIP, 13.50 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 175

In 2008, Irvit Mendez made one appearance in the DSL and allowing 4 runs without getting an out. In 2009, Mendez made three appearances, and again allowed 4 runs, although this time he was able to also get 4 outs. Is that considered that an improvement? I’m not sure, but either way, the biggest problem for Mendez is his control. He walked 5 batters in his one appearance last year, and 7 batters in his 1.3 innings this year. That’s just ridiculous. The two positives about Mendez are his age and his size. He’ll still be 19 years old when the 2010 season starts, and I’m sure he’ll return to the DSL (if he returns at all). As for his size, Mendez amazingly grew from 6’0” to 6’6” in the past year. That growth spurt could have contributed to this control problems, but in the long run, if he learns to use that size to his advantage, he could eventually move up through the system.

195. Tommy Perez, RHP (2 innings in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 9/7/03

6’4”, 167 lbs, 23.5 years old

0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 0.00 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

I didn’t rank Tommy Perez in my top 200 last year because he missed all of 2007 and 2008, so I had thought that he had been released. But alas, he resurfaced in 2009, even though it was only for two brief one inning appearances. Looking back at Tommy’s career, it seems that injuries have been a consistent theme. After pitching 44 innings in his debut in 2004, Perez has only pitched 22 innings since. Not a great track record. However, Perez will be just 23 and a half years old at the start of the 2010 season, and has a good pitching frame at 6’4”. Therefore, if he can somehow find a way to get healthy, Perez may still have a chance to make a splash in the Dodgers minor league system.

194. Garett Green, 3B (49 games in HiA, 17 games in Arizona League in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2008, 30th round

5’11”, 190 lbs, 25 years old

.235 average, 4 HR, 32 RBI’s, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: 181

Garett Green had a subpar and injury riddled season in 2009 while playing most of the season at HiA (his time in Arizona was spent rehabbing his injury). As I mentioned last year, he has no chance to make it to the big leagues. Drafted out of San Diego State in 2008, the highlight of his baseball career will probably be that he got to play college ball with Stephen Strasburg. At the end of the day, age is the biggest factor for Garett Green, as he’ll be 25 years old at the start of the 2010 season. If he’s back with the club in 2010, he’ll most likely return to Hi-A.

193. Steve Cilladi, C (14 games in Arizona League, 1 game in HiA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2009, 33rd round

5’9”, 182 lbs, 23 years old, bats right handed

.119 average, 0 HR’s, 3 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Besides the great Taiwan Perry and 18 year old Jorkey Infante, Steve Cilladi had the lowest OPS of any Dodger minor leaguer at .379. It is true that he only played in 15 games, but still, that is just awful. The only reason that he isn’t ranked last is that he will be 23 years old when the 2010 season starts, instead of 24 or 25 like some of the other players. Anyways, to provide a little background on Cilladi, his dad was a former athletic trainer for the Rockies and Cubs, so I’m sure he knows something about conditioning. He played college ball in the NAIA with the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes, and during his four seasons there, Steve hit .267 with 76 hits, so he wasn’t exactly a masher in college either. In fact, he wasn’t even the full time starting catcher during his Senior year. I’m not sure why the Dodgers spent a pick on draft pick on Cilladi, even if it was a 33rd rounder, but I wish him the best of luck, and I guess he’ll be one of the backup catchers for the Dodgers in the Pioneer League next year.

192. Jose Sanchez, LF (1 game in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 2/9/07

6’2”, 175 lbs, 19.75 years old, bats right handed

.200 average, 0 HR’s, 0 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 151

After playing in 5 DSL games during the 2008 season, Sanchez decided to take even more time off during 2009, and played in only 1 game. Apparently he had some kind of an injury because he was on the DL from mid June until the end of the season, but I have no idea what that injury was. Last year, I actually had some high hopes for Sanchez given his young age, his experience (2009 was actually his 3rd professional season), and his ideal size for an outfielder. After another injury shortened season, however, I don’t see how Jose will be able to make up for so much lost time. He’ll still be just 19 years old to start the 2010 season, but there is no doubt that he’ll be in the DSL yet again, that is if he comes back at all.

191. Nick DeBarr, RHP (29.3 innings in AAA in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 11/30/08

6’3”, 245 lbs, 26.5 years old

2-0, 7.36 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 7.67 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Nick Debarr is an injury prone 26 year old who struggled mightily in his first season in the Dodgers system. Originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round of the 2002 draft, DeBarr started his professional career with three mediocre seasons, posting ERA’s of 4.59, 4.15, and 4.91. Unfortunately, he then underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2005 season, and missed the entire year. However, he came back even stronger in 2006 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in HiA, and then continued to move up the ladder in the Ray’s system in 2007 and 2008. Eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, the Dodgers picked up DeBarr as a long shot to help out in the bullpen. Although he put up fairly solid stats in spring training (3.86 ERA in 7 innings), the Dodgers didn’t have enough room on their 25 man roster for him, and he was sent to AAA. There he was pretty horrible, and apparently got hurt in mid July as he didn’t pitch after July 12th. I doubt the Dodgers will re-sign Debarr for 2010, but if they do, he’ll definitely be in AAA again to trying to prove his worth.

Dodger Scout Gary Nickels To Be Honored

2009-11-05T19:33:17Z

Gary Nickels, the man who hired and mentored Logan White in his formative scouting years, and who has been with the Dodgers as a scout since 2003, overseeing the signings of Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, among others, will be inducted into a pair of Halls of Fame this month. Per the Dodgers press release:

Dodger Midwest Scouting Supervisor Gary Nickels will be inducted into the Midwest Scouts Association Hall of Fame on November 7 and the Mid Atlantic Scouts Association Hall of Fame on November 14.

"Gary is the most professional, punctual, organized and thorough baseball man I know," said Dodger Assistant General Manager of Scouting Logan White. "I have had the good fortune to have been hired and mentored by this man when I was a young scout, and he is the epitome of a class act in all facets of life."

The 2009 season is Nickels’ 38th as a scout, and seventh in his current position. Notable current Dodgers drafted under his supervision include Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Scott Elbert, Blake DeWitt, Cory Wade, and A.J. Ellis. His scouting territory includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The Midwest Scouts Association Hall of Fame induction will occur at the Midwest Scouts Association Banquet at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City , Missouri . He will be inducted along with Mike Radcliff of the Minnesota Twins and Bill Bryk of the San Diego Padres during the event’s dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The Mid Atlantic Scouts Association (MASA) Hall of Fame induction will take place at its annual banquet at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen , Maryland . Nickels’ name will also be added to the Hall of Fame plaque which hangs permanently at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore , Maryland .

Nickels worked for four clubs prior to joining the Dodgers in 2003. From 1999-2002, he served as the San Diego Padres’ Pro Scouting Director following nine years in Baltimore as the Orioles’ Scouting Director (1991-98) and Midwest Supervisor/Crosschecker (1989-90). He also was the Chicago Cubs’ Midwest Region Supervisor from 1982-88 and got his start in baseball as an Administrative Assistant, Scouting (1972-75) and Area Scout (1976-81) for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Is Jaime's Squeeze the New Bartman?

2009-11-04T16:14:03Z

So I’m at Game 1 of the National League Division Series, to watch the Dodgers duke it out with the Cardinals for the right to go on to the National League Championship Series and be embarrassed by the Phillies and their illustrious collection of such former Dodger legends as Shane Victorino, Jason Werth and the immortal Chan "2 Grand Slams In One Inning to Fernando Tatis" Park. I’m camped out near the Dodger dugout before the game with my trusty Canon 40D, when I notice the nice looking fellow loitering near the railing. "Hey!" thinks I, "isn’t that the carpenter guy from Home and Garden Television?" (Okay, so once in awhile I watch something other than sports ).

I snap off several shots of what I believe is the tv tool belt model, whom I later google to identify as Eric Stromer.

Only in later comparing my photos to those on Google Images, I’m not sure it’s Stromer after all. Kind of looks like him, kind of doesn’t.

Then TMZ, hot on the trail of the Fightin’ McCourts, runs these shots of Jaime McCourt and her alleged new love interest. For those of you not following this fracas, the McCourts own the Dodgers. Or at least Jaime McCourt says they do (despite the fact she allegedly signed an agreement saying the team is 100% her husband Frank's). Frank McCourt says he’s the sole owner of the team (despite miles and miles of film and tape over the last several years in which he proclaims Jaime co-owner of the team). Anyway, there’s a major power play going on for ownership and control of the Dodgers, with Frank firing Jaime for among other things, what he alleges was "inappropriate behavior with a subordinate". For those of us who don’t speak corporate that means "boinking the help".

I don’t know if Jaime did or did not do what Frank is accusing her of, and in her defense, the only one in the Dodger organization who was not subordinate to her was Frank, whom apparently she no longer wished to engage in that kind of behavior with, appropriate or otherwise.

Anyway, Dodger fans rightfully fear that the acrimonious dissolution proceeding between the McCourts may leave their beloved team in ruins. Which raises another question. Is Jaime’s new love interest destined to become the Dodgers’ Bartman?

Who is Bartman? As usual I direct your attention to Wikipedia: "In the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with Chicago ahead 3-0 and holding a 3 games to 2 lead in the best of 7 series, several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Marlins' second baseman Luis Castillo. One of the fans, Steve Bartman, touched the ball once it crossed into the stands, disrupting a potential catch by Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou. If Alou had caught the ball, it would have been the second out in the inning, and the Cubs would have been just four outs away from winning the National League pennant. Instead, the Cubs relinquished the lead that inning and then lost the game. When they were eliminated in the seventh game the next day, the "Steve Bartman incident" was seen as the turning point of the series...

"Bartman had to be led away from the park under security escort for his own safety as Cubs fans shouted profanities towards him and others threw debris onto the field and towards the exit tunnel from the field. News footage of the game showed him surrounded by security as passersby pelted him with drinks and other debris. Bartman's name, as well as personal information about him, appeared on Major League Baseball's online message boards minutes after the game ended.[11] As many as six police cars gathered outside his home to protect Bartman and his family following the incident.[3] Afterwards, then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich suggested that Bartman join a witness protection program, while then-Florida Governor Jeb Bush offered Bartman asylum.[1]"

As previously stated, I only know what I read in the papers. I don’t know for a fact if Jaime McCourt does or does not have a love interest. If she does, I don’t know if the relationship developed before or after she and Frank separated. Even if it was before, she may be rich, she may be very smart, but she’s human. She'd be no different than the endless sea of others who have given in to temptation while technically pledged to another.

But If the McCourt dissolution does in fact wreck the Dodgers, is it possible that Dodger fans may come to view the source of that temptation as the west coast version of Bartman?

So of course I was very curious to see the guy that allegedly came between the McCourts. And when I took a look at the photos on TMZ, it occurred to me that he also resembled the guy that I had photographed standing near the Dodgers dugout. If it wasn’t Eric Stromer, could it be Jaime’s guy?

I went back to my photos for another look. It does look like the guy I photographed could be the same guy seen in the TMZ photos. Or maybe it is Eric Stromer. Or someone else entirely. I need forensics I don’t have to make a definitive call.

These pictures were taken before the separation became public, but if it turns out that this nice looking fellow is in fact Jaime’s new squeeze, then you have to marvel at the balls the two of them had to both be parading around together a few feet from the owner’s box that Jaime shares with Frank during the first game of the National League Division Series. And if the alleged romance does lead to dark days in Dodgerland, is Jaime's squeeze - whomever he might be - our very own Bartman?

World Series Simulation, Game #6

2009-11-03T21:11:09Z

I used my simulator to simulate 100000 baseball games between the Phillies and Yankees using what to the best of my knowledge will be close to today's starting lineups. The simulator outputs a win probability for each team, along with the average total runs scored, a distribution matrix of all the final scores and how often they occurred, and an averaged box score tally of all games combined. You may find it strange that there are so many one run games listed as the most likely score, and that the home team is always favored to win in the top couple of scores. This is due to basic math and the way that baseball rules play out of having the home team bat last. Here is a great article explaining this phenomenon.

Today's Results... (Last simulation ran on Monday at 930PM)

Visitors	Home	Pitching Matchup	Favorite	Vegas Win Prob	Simulator Win Prob	AccuScore
PHI	NYA	P.Martinez vs A.Pettitte	NYA	64.97%	64.66%	61%

Skinny: Simulator Fun Facts... Vegas and my simulator are in almost perfect agreement on the Yankees win probability. Once again the key for the Phillies will be to silence the heart of the Yankees order as much as possible. Not an easy thing to do. The AccuScore iPod finally has its tallies in and they favor the Phillies a little more than Vegas and the Simulator.

Top 50 Most Likely Scores
1	NYA 4-3
2	NYA 3-2
3	NYA 5-4
4	NYA 6-5
5	NYA 2-1
6	PHI 4-3
7	NYA 4-2
8	PHI 3-2
9	PHI 5-4
10	NYA 5-3
11	NYA 3-1
12	NYA 4-1
13	NYA 5-2
14	NYA 7-6
15	NYA 6-2
16	NYA 6-4
17	NYA 6-3
18	NYA 5-1
19	PHI 4-2
20	PHI 5-3
21	PHI 2-1
22	NYA 3-0
23	NYA 7-2
24	PHI 6-5
25	PHI 6-4
26	NYA 7-1
27	NYA 4-0
28	NYA 7-3
29	PHI 5-2
30	NYA 7-4
31	PHI 3-1
32	PHI 6-3
33	NYA 6-1
34	NYA 7-5
35	NYA 8-3
36	PHI 4-1
37	NYA 8-7
38	NYA 1-0
39	NYA 2-0
40	PHI 7-4
41	NYA 5-0
42	PHI 7-5
43	PHI 7-6
44	NYA 8-4
45	PHI 6-2
46	NYA 6-0
47	NYA 8-2
48	NYA 8-1
49	NYA 9-3
50	PHI 7-3
51	PHI 5-1
52	NYA 8-5
53	NYA 8-6
54	NYA 9-2
55	PHI 2-0
56	PHI 8-6
57	NYA 9-4
58	PHI 8-4
59	NYA 9-8
60	PHI 8-3
61	NYA 7-0
62	NYA 10-2
63	NYA 9-1
64	PHI 6-1
65	PHI 8-5
66	PHI 4-0
67	PHI 8-7
68	NYA 9-5
69	NYA 8-0
70	PHI 7-2
71	NYA 10-4
72	PHI 3-0
73	NYA 10-3
74	PHI 1-0
75	PHI 8-2
76	NYA 9-6
77	PHI 7-1
78	NYA 10-1
79	NYA 10-5
80	NYA 9-0
81	PHI 9-8
82	PHI 9-4
83	PHI 5-0
84	NYA 11-3
85	NYA 11-5
86	PHI 9-5
87	PHI 8-1
88	PHI 9-2
89	PHI 9-3
90	NYA 11-2
91	NYA 11-1
92	PHI 9-6
93	NYA 9-7
94	NYA 10-6
95	NYA 11-4
96	PHI 10-3
97	PHI 9-7
98	PHI 6-0
99	NYA 10-9
100	PHI 10-5

Game Pitching Results
Pitcher	IP	SO	BB	HR	WHIP	FIP
P.Martinez	6.4	3.994	2.521	1.17	1.465	5.524
A.Pettitte	7.0	5.164	2.746	0.78	1.255	4.360

Note: Keep in mind I did this simulation before knowing the actual starting lineups, so some of the players I used may not be starting. Many of the "Players Most Likely To" stats depend on having the correct lineup. The lineups I used are listed below. Chances are you won't see a big difference in win probability from having the lineup order slightly off. Picking the correct starters is more important, especially if one of the better players is taking the day off. But you still won't see a big change in win probability if the starter and backup are interchangeable.

Simulation Lineups
	Name	wOBA	Name	wOBA
1	J.Rollins	.2986	D.Jeter	.3301
2	S.Victorino	.2937	J.Damon	.3450
3	C.Utley	.3195	M.Teixeira	.3843
4	R.Howard	.3124	A.Rodriguez	.3837
5	J.Werth	.3282	H.Matsui	.3533
6	R.Ibanez	.3052	J.Posada	.3590
7	B.Francisco	.2921	N.Swisher	.3454
8	P.Feliz	.2810	R.Cano	.3233
9	C.Ruiz	.2821	B.Gardner	.3003

New Layout Comments

2009-11-03T19:30:39Z

As you may have noticed, the site looked a little bit different this morning, as SB Nation and its member blogs have undergone a system-wide visual change.

We would like to know your thoughts on these changes -- good, bad, or indifferent. The tech team at SB Nation is very good, and very responsive to requests. Now is your chance to be heard. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The McCourts are Poster Children for the Credit Crunch-- Irresponsible Spending, Financed by Fans

2009-11-03T12:27:10Z

Jamie McCourt's divorce filing, with its claims of a net worth of $1.2bn, got many Dodger fans in a frenzy, as it seemed to suggest that the McCourts were rolling in dough while at the same time griping about paying Manny, selling top prospects for relatively paltry sums of cash, and raising ticket prices more than 100% in some sections over a 4 year period.

The truth is actually much worse than that.

According to posts on DodgerDivorce.com, the McCourts are even more heavily leveraged than originally reported. To buy the Dodgers, they used the following financial instruments:

$150 million (Bank of America commercial loan). This piece is pretty straightforward. B of A loaned one or both McCourts $150 million and took a security interest in the club and its real estate. From the bank's perspective, this was a fine deal, because the bank was significantly over-secured. This means that if everything went terribly wrong, there would still be enough value in the collateral to cover the loan.

Current status: taken out. See below.

$125 million (Fox Sports [News Corp.] two-year note) Fox, in a testament to how desperate it was to get out of the Dodgers, financed nearly half of the purchase price itself. In exchange for the $125 million short-term loan, The McCourt Company granted Fox a security interest in the 24 acres of Boston land. If McCourt defaulted on the terms of its note to Fox, Fox could take the Boston property.

Current status: In February of 2006, Fox foreclosed on the property, taking possession in exchange for forgiving the $145 remaining on the note. Evidently, the revenue generated by the property wasn't sufficient to cover the interest on the note. At or near the time of foreclosure, Fox discovered over $58 million in previously unreported obligations owed by the property. In further evidence of Fox's determination to be done with the Dodgers and McCourt, Fox assumed that extra debt.

$75 million (MLB revolving note) This piece is a fairly standard revolving line of credit from MLB's fund for team owners. It is likely to require only interest payments.

Current status: unknown.

$40 million (Fox four-year note) This loan, another concession from Fox, was secured by McCourt personal assets. Presumably, this does not include the family residences, which were supposedly not offered as collateral in the Dodgers purchase.

Current status: Taken out. See below.

$31 million (Fox three-year convertible note) Like the last chunk, another Fox loan secured by McCourt personal assets.

Current status: Taken out. See below.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fox was also obligated to kick in rebates of $50 million over the first two years of the financing, effectively reducing the purchase price to $371 million.

So, if you're counting at home, the above adds up to $421 million in financing...for a $371 million purchase. That, friends, is a little scary.

So we know that the McCourts did not have the financial resources to buy the team with their own money, but instead put their Boston assets as proof of wealth, and then secured bubble-era financing for the team -- they essentially got a 110% mortgage on the Dodgers. In the era of free credit, and given the Dodgers fine cash-flow, this may have looked like a good deal for the banks at the time.

But it didn't end there. Because of the appreciation of assets during the bubble economy, which took off just as the McCourts bought the team, the value of the Dodgers soared. Using this new valuation, the McCourts secured even more loans which they proceeded to spend on themselves, buying properties in Holmby Hills and Malibu now valued at $120m. The profits from the team, along with additional loans taken out against the Dodgers now $750m valuation, were clearly used to help finance the owners' increasingly lavish lifestyle. Read that again-- the money you spent on the Dodgers is what allowed the McCourts to live like Kings, even though their main asset was bought entirely on credit. To say it again, the Dodgers made the McCourts mega-rich, before that they apparently were quite wealthy, but not able to live the lavish lifestyle revealed in court documents.

It's one thing for a rich owner to not spend on his team lest he risk his personal wealth (See George Shinn, Donald Stirling, etc.). It's another thing entirely to become rich because of your team's passionate fans, and then use that newfound wealth to create a lifestyle, built on asset appreciation and cheap credit, that is unsustainable.

The other thing the investigation by DodgerDivorce.com reveals is that there is simply no way that the McCourts will be able to hold onto the Dodgers unless Frank is able to prove sole ownership of the Dodgers. In some ways, that would be an even worse scenario than the team being sold, because McCourt's asset base outside of the Dodgers will be depleted by the divorce, and he will become even more tight-fisted.

There are still more question than answers, such as why MLB would allow the Boston-based McCourts, who were rumored to be judged not financially sound enough to own the Red Sox, to buy the Dodgers; the true value of the McCourts non-Dodger assets, and the actual cash-position of the team, but I think it is safe to say that Dodger fans are in for a difficult road ahead.

Six Degrees of Separation

2009-11-01T20:46:54Z

I used to play that game all the time when I was a kid.

Baseball affords a different way to play, instead of appearing with, you can play six degrees by who was traded for whom. It's kinda neat to see the way in which past Dodgers have turned into current Dodgers.

For example, did you know that there is a direct link between Mike Piazza and Andre Ethier? Well, neither did I.

So Mike Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in 1988, as legend has it, a favor to Tommy Lasorda. As the story goes, he became all sorts of awesome, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992, Silver Slugger awards, All Star Game appearances. As a kid growing up in the 90s, he was my favorite Dodger.

Then after six seasons, he's traded to the Marlins with Todd Zeile for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Manuel Barrios and Jim Eisenreich. Of course this broke my little twelve year old heart, but hey Gary Sheffield. He's an All-Star! He can hit! He can publicly lobby for a trade?

Well in 2002 he got his wish, going to the Braves for Brian Jordan, Odalis Perez, and Andrew Brown. Current A's relief pitcher Andrew Brown was but a minor leaguer then, and two years later he became the Player to be Named Later in a trade for Milton Bradley. As acquiring Milton Bradley always proves to be a mistake no mater what team makes it, eventually he had to go.

That trade came in 2005, as he went to the A's with Antonio Perez for A's minor league prospect...Andre Ethier!

How about that, a direct link between my favorite player as a kid and my favorite player as a young adult.

World Series Simulation, Game #2

2009-10-29T04:46:32Z

Today's Results... (Last simulation ran on Thursday at 10:30AM)

Visitors	Home	Pitching Matchup	Favorite	Vegas Win Prob	Simulator Win Prob	AccuScore
PHI	NYA	P.Martinez vs A.Burnett	NYA	66.10%	58.48%	58%

Skinny: Simulator Fun Facts... The simulator and AccuScore are in pretty good agreement as to the level the Yankees should be favored. Meanwhile, Vegas is once again drinking the Yankees kool-aid. I think the Vegas line is the way it is due to the pressure on the Yankees to win this game. More of a psychological than a logical reason.

Top 50 Most Likely Scores
1	NYA 4-3
2	NYA 3-2
3	NYA 5-4
4	NYA 2-1
5	NYA 4-2
6	PHI 4-3
7	PHI 3-2
8	NYA 6-5
9	NYA 3-1
10	PHI 5-4
11	NYA 5-3
12	PHI 4-2
13	NYA 5-2
14	NYA 4-1
15	NYA 6-4
16	NYA 6-3
17	PHI 2-1
18	PHI 3-1
19	NYA 7-6
20	PHI 5-3
21	PHI 6-5
22	NYA 5-1
23	PHI 5-2
24	PHI 6-4
25	NYA 6-2
26	NYA 1-0
27	PHI 6-3
28	NYA 6-1
29	NYA 7-4
30	PHI 4-1
31	NYA 4-0
32	NYA 2-0
33	NYA 3-0
34	NYA 7-5
35	NYA 7-2
36	PHI 7-5
37	NYA 7-3
38	PHI 7-4
39	PHI 7-3
40	PHI 6-2
41	PHI 5-1
42	NYA 7-1
43	PHI 7-6
44	PHI 7-2
45	NYA 8-7
46	NYA 5-0
47	PHI 2-0
48	PHI 6-1
49	NYA 8-3
50	NYA 8-2

Game Pitching Results
Pitcher	IP	SO	BB	HR	WHIP	FIP
P.Martinez	6.7	3.978	2.371	1.132	1.349	5.283
A.Burnett	6.7	5.957	3.274	0.864	1.284	4.567

Simulation Lineups
	Name	wOBA	Name	wOBA
1	J.Rollins	.2822	D.Jeter	.3142
2	S.Victorino	.2857	J.Damon	.3287
3	C.Utley	.3256	M.Teixeira	.3693
4	R.Howard	.3333	A.Rodriguez	.3700
5	J.Werth	.2993	H.Matsui	.3454
6	R.Ibanez	.3090	R.Cano	.3155
7	M.Stairs	.2932	N.Swisher	.3406
8	P.Feliz	.2481	M.Cabrera	.2930
9	C.Ruiz	.2658	J.Molina	.2350

Sorry Juan Guzman - A Look At LCS MVPs

2009-10-26T22:03:25Z

As the Yankees won their 40th pennant last night, it was no surprise that starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who was 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA in the series, won the series MVP. Then again, Alex Rodriguez also had a great series, hitting .429/.567/.952, and certainly would have been a worthy choice had he won the ALCS MVP. For what it's worth, Fangraphs had Sabathia with the edge in win probability added (WPA), 0.679 to 0.530 over A-Rod.

At first thought, two wins by a starting pitcher seemed like a lock for series MVP. But just how often has that happened? I went back and looked at all the league championship series since 1985, the first year of the best-of-seven format. There have been 25 times a starting pitcher from the winning team has had two victories in the LCS. He has walked away with the MVP 15 times, which is less than I would have thought. Two of those non-MVPs though lost out to a fellow teammate who also had two wins.

Here's a look at all the starting pitchers from pennant-winning teams with two wins in the LCS in the last 25 years:

Year	Starting Pitcher	MVP?	Comment
1987 ALCS	Bert Blyleven	No	Gary Gaetti hit .300/.348/.650, circling Bert's 4.05 ERA
1988 NLCS	Tim Belcher	No	Orel Hershiser and his one win (1.09 ERA) bested his teammate
1989 ALCS	Dave Stewart	No	Rickey Henderson hit .400/.609/1.000
1990 ALCS	Dave Stewart	Yes
1991 NLCS	Steve Avery	Yes
1991 NLCS	John Smoltz	No	Smoltz was great (1.76 ERA), but teammate Avery was better (0.00 ERA)
1991 ALCS	Jack Morris	No	Kirby Puckett hit .429/.435/.762; Morris had a 4.05 ERA
1992 ALCS	Juan Guzman	No	Guzman's 2.08 ERA was spit on by Roberto Alomar (.423/.464/.692)
1992 NLCS	John Smoltz	Yes
1993 ALCS	Dave Stewart	Yes
1993 ALCS	Juan Guzman	No	Guzman and Stewart each gave up three runs; Stew got one more out
1995 ALCS	Orel Hershiser	Yes
1996 NLCS	John Smoltz	No	Smoltz had a 1.20 ERA in 15 IP, but Javy Lopez hit .542/.607/1.000
1997 NLCS	Livan Hernandez	Yes	No word on whether Eric Gregg was voted a playoff share
1998 ALCS	David Wells	Yes
1998 NLCS	Sterling Hitchcock	Yes	My favorite MVP of the bunch, as he pitched all of 10 innings
2000 ALCS	Orlando Hernandez	No	El Duque's 4.05 ERA was beaten by David Justice's 8 RBI
2000 NLCS	Mike Hampton	Yes
2001 NLCS	Randy Johnson	No	The Unit's 1.12 ERA lost to the grit of ~~David Eckstein~~ Craig Counsell (.381/.381/.524)
2001 ALCS	Andy Pettitte	Yes
2005 NLCS	Roy Oswalt	Yes
2007 ALCS	Josh Beckett	Yes
2008 ALCS	Matt Garza	Yes
2008 NLCS	Cole Hamels	Yes	"C'mon, Cole. Pound the corners. Get him to chase one outside."
2009 ALCS	C.C. Sabathia	Yes

There have been three starting pitchers on losing teams to amass two wins in the LCS. Mike Scott (1986) captured the MVP award, while Freddy Garcia (2000) and Tim Wakefield (2003) did not.

There have been eight relievers since 1985 to get two wins, the most recent being Julian Tavarez for the 2004 Cardinals. Jesse Orosco is the only man, starter or reliever, to get three wins in an LCS, accomplishing the feat for the 1986 Mets. None of the relievers won series MVP.

Don Sutton (1974) and Burt Hooton (1981) join Belcher as the only Dodgers to have two wins in a single NLCS. MVPs were not awarded for the league championship series until 1977. Hooton won the 1981 NLCS MVP.

What's in a name?

2009-10-26T19:47:38Z

Throught the annals of history, many a name has spoken strongly of an athlete's ability to dominate their game. For the sake of it, I am saying that the names I am listing were great because their mama's and papa's bestowed them with the name of a champion!

Baseball names of the past and present that I have admired with big guy names: Boog Powell (Definitely could work in a steel mill shaping steel), Babe Ruth (A classic), Bo Jackson (This guy was compared to a wild boar once), Frank Howard (He sounds mean and big and bad), Ryan Howard (Sounds like the foreman to a wrecking crew), Lance Berkman (I just think he looks like his name. Like a big-barrelled baseball bat), Hack Wilson (Probably took a big hack), Hammerin' Hank Aaron (The guy is referenced in a Chuck Berry song and hammers can do damage) Phil Coke (Only a reliever, but his name offers many comments), Clayton Kershaw (His name sounds like strikeouts to me. And Texas), Nate Mclouth (Almost could be Mclout!)

Notable Mentions: Frank House, George "Ox" Eckhardt. Not great players, but their names gave them the potential.

Feel free to vote on this poll, or add some of your favorite athlete names, any sport is fine. It's all in good fun and what else can we do until spring training?

Poll

Best names in the game today. Suggest better names than these and I will adjust the poll.

Ryan Howard

2 votes

Phil Coke

1 votes

Clayton Kershaw

12 votes

Lance Berkman

2 votes

Nate Mclouth

3 votes

20 votes | Poll has closed