True Blue LA: FanShots

Today we have added Luis [Javy] Guerra to the 40-man roster. Our 40-man now stands at...

2009-11-20T21:11:09Z

Today we have added Luis [Javy] Guerra to the 40-man roster. Our 40-man now stands at 33 players.

- Joe Jareck, Assistant Director, Public Relations of the Los Angeles Dodgers

The color in kensai's face is returning to normal now.

Kensai's 2010 Plan

2009-11-20T20:45:44Z

Kensai's 2010 Plan

Everybody wants Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, or Roy Halladay, but the Dodgers can barely afford to fill all the roster spots on their team with decent players, much less trade for an elite talent and pay them adequately. It's a joke, really.

Given the financial restrictions, I believe I did a decent job at constructing a roster that could make the playoffs in 2010 and beyond, while also concurrently keeping the Dodgers long-term future in tact as much as possible.

How will the actual offseason play out? We'll just have to wait and see, but it's clear that the front office has a sizable task ahead of them.

Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang ... told Taiwanese reporters Thursday that ... he would not be...

2009-11-20T19:23:47Z

Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang ... told Taiwanese reporters Thursday that ... he would not be opposed to going to the Dodgers.

Diamond Leung also calls Wang "a non-tender candidate" in his blog entry, but I would imagine that the Yankees can afford to pay him a few million dollars - he made $5M in 2009 and is arbitration-eligible for the third time - as an insurance policy, to see if he can come back, rehab in the minor and be a back of the rotation starter. Still, it would be interesting to have him paired on the Dodger pitching staff with middle school classmate Hong-Chih Kuo.

Tip to commenter underdog for posting the link to Diamond's blog in the Dodger Thoughts comments.

One analysis of Aroldis Chapman

2009-11-20T18:51:36Z

One analysis of Aroldis Chapman

The Dodgers do not seem to be players in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes, but he is still an interesting figure in this offseason player market. www.baseball-intellect.com has provided their analysis of Chapman, which includes several gifs demonstrating his pitching motion. I wouldn't be surprised if he needs some development at the AA/AAA level, but gets rushed by the team that signs him.

"I spoke at a luncheon hosted by the LA Times today, and by doing so I did more for the Times than...

2009-11-18T16:04:11Z

"I spoke at a luncheon hosted by the LA Times today, and by doing so I did more for the Times than Plaschke has all year." - Tommy Lasorda

Dodgers Have 34 Minor League Free Agents

2009-11-17T21:32:06Z

Dodgers Have 34 Minor League Free Agents

Baseball America has released the full list of 536 minor league free agents, including an MLB-leading 34 from the Dodgers.

Included among the Dodgers' minor league free agents are once heralded and oft-injured pitcher Greg Miller, the Ragin' Cajun Danny Ardoin, and Korean veteran pitcher Hyang-Nam Choi, who struck out 12 batters per nine innings with Albuqerque in 2009. Choi will be 39 in 2010.

Now those questions seem to have vanished. Bell, 23, has slimmed down considerably from his listed...

2009-11-16T18:07:59Z

Now those questions seem to have vanished. Bell, 23, has slimmed down considerably from his listed 6-foot-3, 235 pounds and become a more reliable defender at third base, even winning the Best Defensive Third Baseman honor from Double-A Southern League managers in Baseball America’s Best Tools survey. He’s always had an above-average arm, but those who have followed Bell this season say his actions look cleaner and his improved conditioning has helped his range.

Baseball America

A celebrity divorce has rocked the Dodgers, writes Billy Witz. The great concern among the...

2009-11-16T17:38:17Z

A celebrity divorce has rocked the Dodgers, writes Billy Witz.

The great concern among the higher-ups in some corners of Major League Baseball about all this is (A) it's going to become a sideshow, and (B) the team's ownership is going to be locked down by legal issues. One lawyer explained to me this week one of the great overriding questions regarding the split of the team's ownership: On one hand, Frank McCourt has documents that indicate he is the owner of the Dodgers, but on the other hand, the purchase of the team was based on money borrowed against real estate in the names of both Frank and Jamie McCourt.

Buster Olney

That's some late life on those pitches! Source is from the 1st issue of the new Dr. Strange...

2009-11-14T05:45:00Z

That's some late life on those pitches!

Source is from the 1st issue of the new Dr. Strange mini-series that Marvel just released on Thursday.

The worst part of the public, salacious nature of the McCourt divorce (yes, there is a...

2009-11-14T02:48:19Z

The worst part of the public, salacious nature of the McCourt divorce (yes, there is a dodgerdivorce.com) is that there are four children involved, and there remain friends and neighbors from their previous home in Brookline, Mass., that have strong feelings for those boys.

Everyone realized that what held up the Manny Ramirez trade was that the Dodgers didn't want to take on money, and to get Casey Blake they had to give the Indians Carlos Santana so that Cleveland would pay the remainder of Blake's contact. Now, Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts points out that the $8.5M spent in signing bonuses the past two years is the smallest amount of any major league team, and that their international investments are virtually nil.

Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times ran a shocking story on the Dodgers' squeezing legendary scout George Genovese, informing him his salary would be clipped from $18,000 to $8,000 and his expenses from $5,000 to $2,000, in contrast to last weekend's story about the need for nearly a half-million dollars a month in alimony. The McCourt house in Cotuit, Mass., is on the market for $50M, the club had to get rid of its best prospect (Santana) because it couldn't afford Casey Blake, and the kids have to endure the public humiliation that has their real friends 3,000 miles away sickened.

Peter Gammons

Jonathan Figueroa, once a highly regarded pitcher in the Dodgers organization, passed away earlier...

2009-11-13T21:51:43Z

Jonathan Figueroa, once a highly regarded pitcher in the Dodgers organization, passed away earlier this month at age 26. He had been diagnosed with Lupus, according to reports.

Diamond Leung

Dock Ellis No Hitter on Acid becomes great 4 minute animated movie

2009-11-13T17:45:30Z

Dock Ellis No Hitter on Acid becomes great 4 minute animated movie

Okay, this is one cool animated movie. Most of you may have never heard of this guy or his no hitter but it was big news when years later he revealed he had thrown the no - hitter after an LSD trip. The real story here is the cool animation and voice over.

BP2010 Dodger player comment tidbit: Kershaw from the point of introducing slider in June: 2.04...

2009-11-13T17:40:49Z

BP2010 Dodger player comment tidbit: Kershaw from the point of introducing slider in June: 2.04 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 2.3 K/BB, 0.16 HR/9. #wow

Jay Jaffe

FYI, this weekend MLB Network will air a block of All-Time Games highlighting high-strikeout games...

2009-11-13T02:31:23Z

FYI, this weekend MLB Network will air a block of All-Time Games highlighting high-strikeout games and featuring one that we have not aired before: Ramon Martinez’s 18-strikeout performance for the Dodgers vs. the Braves in 1990, airing at 3:30PM ET on Saturday, November 14.

Other games included in the block of All-Time Games this weekend are Ron Guidry’s 18 strikeouts for the Yankees against the California Angels in 1978; Roger Clemens’ 20 strikeouts for the Red Sox against the Mariners in 1986; David Cone’s 19-strikeout game for the Mets vs. the Phillies in 1991; Ben Sheets’ 18 strikeouts for the Brewers vs. the Braves in 2004; and Randy Johnson’s 20 strikeouts for the Diamondbacks against the Reds in 1997.

MLB Network

Silver and Gold. Congratulations to Matt Kemp, for winning this stuff and getting a big raise to...

2009-11-13T01:37:06Z

Silver and Gold.

Congratulations to Matt Kemp, for winning this stuff and getting a big raise to go with it!

According to [Orlando] Hudson, Torre never once called him into his office to discuss the...

2009-11-12T22:46:20Z

According to [Orlando] Hudson, Torre never once called him into his office to discuss the situation, a slap in the face Hudson has trouble accepting.

"My teammates talked to me about it more than Joe did, but I never had any answers because (Torre) and I never talked," Hudson said. "There was no conversation."

Ramona Shelburne of the LA Daily News caught up with Orlando Hudson, who is understandably not happy about his late-season and playoff benching.

Dodgers' 2009 team stats updated on B-Ref

2009-11-12T05:32:57Z

Dodgers' 2009 team stats updated on B-Ref

Because Dodgers stadium played as a severe pitcher's park for the past two seasons(multi-year batting: 95, pitching: 94), and one year (batting: 95, pitching:93). The batters OPS+ jumped several points, and the pitchers' ERA+ dropped a few points down after adjustment.

Among season position starters(remember, Manny missed 50 games), is Andre Ethier with a 132 OPS+. Clayton Kershaw leads starting pitchers with a 141 ERA+, and Ronald Belisario led the relievers with a 194 ERA+.

Schmidt last Dodger to file for free agency; 40-man roster now at 29

2009-11-11T22:07:09Z

Schmidt last Dodger to file for free agency; 40-man roster now at 29

Ken Davidoff of Newsday brings us the news that Jason Schmidt has filed for free agency today, meaning all 15 Dodgers eligible for free agency have now filed.

The Dodgers now have 29 players on the 40-man roster:

Pitchers (15): Kershaw, Billingsley, Kuroda, McDonald, Elbert, Broxton, Sherrill, Kuo, Belisario, Troncoso, Wade, Leach, Schlichting, Stults, Haeger

Catchers (3): Martin, Ellis, May

Infielders (5): Loney, DeWitt, Furcal, Blake, Hu

Outfielders (6): Manny, Kemp, Ethier, Pierre, Paul, Repko

To be protected from the Rule 5 draft, players must be added to the 40-man roster by November 20. Essentially, this means high school draftees from 2005 and college draftees from 2006, as well as similarly-aged international signees. Likely players to be added to the roster include Ivan DeJesus, Trayvon Robinson, Scott Van Slyke, Javy Guerra, and perhaps (as pointed out by CanuckDodger) Francisco Felix.

Could the Dodgers Make a Run at Brandon Phillips?

2009-11-11T16:30:33Z

Could the Dodgers Make a Run at Brandon Phillips?

An intriguing possibility, considering we're unlikely to retain Hudson and Phillips is an upgrade over Belliard (since I doubt he repeats last September over a full year). We have a SS (DeJesus) and a catcher (May) that fit the Reds' needs.

Dodgers catcher-turned-RHP Kenley Jansen just DOMINATED with a mid-90s FB and a pretty nice CB

2009-11-11T03:42:32Z

Dodgers catcher-turned-RHP Kenley Jansen just DOMINATED with a mid-90s FB and a pretty nice CB

BenBadler