Just wanted send my condolences to the Nahan family on the passing of the legendary Stu Nahan. For those of you not in L.A., or who don't know much about him, Stu was a well-known, well-recognized, and very well-liked figure in the world of L.A. sports. He anchored the sports segments on the local news, first for ABC 7, then later with NBC 4 before Fred Roggin was given the gig in 1986, and then finally with KTLA channel 5 after Keith Olbermann left for bigger things. Nahan retired from TV in 1999 when his role at KTLA was diminished, but he continued to do other things. Most recently, he was part of the Dodgers Radio pre-game and post-game shows on KFWB News 980. Besides his TV news gigs, he also contributed to the old "Ken And Bob Company" radio show on 790 KABC Radio in L.A. Nahan will likely be most remembered for his roles as the boxing announcer in the Rocky movies.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Raffy Update
CORRECTION: The Times article on Furcal was written by Kevin Baxter, not Dylan Hernandez. My apologies...
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For those of you wondering what Rafael Furcal has been up to this off-season, here's a nice piece from the L.A. Times Dodgers beat-writer Dylan Hernandez from today's editions, and how he's "getting his mojo back" after a disappointing season marred by injuries...
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For those of you wondering what Rafael Furcal has been up to this off-season, here's a nice piece from the L.A. Times Dodgers beat-writer Dylan Hernandez from today's editions, and how he's "getting his mojo back" after a disappointing season marred by injuries...
Monday, December 17, 2007
Well, Almost Set...
There's still the matter of filling out the bench and relievers corps. Today the Blue inked Gary Bennett to a one-year, $850k deal to back up Russ Martin behind the dish. Bennett's signing probably would have flown under the radar but his inclusion in the Mitchell Report last week makes it a splashy signing. Bennett confessed to using HGH shortly after. He will likely start about 25 games for the Dodgers in 2008, making Martin one of the busiest everyday catchers in the bigs...
Dodgers are also expected to be one of about 10 teams who will watch Kris Benson throw off a mound tomorrow. The Dodgers are probably a long-shot to sign him. (Thank God!)
Arizona has pulled their two-year offer to back-up first baseman Tony Clark off the table, essentially cutting ties with the veteran. The Dodgers have shown interest in bringing Clark to L.A. to replace the departed Olmedo Saenz. (I like it.) Stay tuned for this one...
And finally, there is a report (or two?) floating out and about that the Dodgers have an offer out for Rudy Seanez. Since he has stated his wishes to return to the Dodgers, it seems likely he will take the offer. Whatever it takes to strengthen the bullpen!
Dodgers are also expected to be one of about 10 teams who will watch Kris Benson throw off a mound tomorrow. The Dodgers are probably a long-shot to sign him. (Thank God!)
Arizona has pulled their two-year offer to back-up first baseman Tony Clark off the table, essentially cutting ties with the veteran. The Dodgers have shown interest in bringing Clark to L.A. to replace the departed Olmedo Saenz. (I like it.) Stay tuned for this one...
And finally, there is a report (or two?) floating out and about that the Dodgers have an offer out for Rudy Seanez. Since he has stated his wishes to return to the Dodgers, it seems likely he will take the offer. Whatever it takes to strengthen the bullpen!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Konichiwa Kuroda-san!
It's done! All that's left is an official announcement to come tomorrow at a noon PT press conference out at the Stadium. The deal for Hiroki Kuroda is reported to be three years, $35.3 million. Here is mlb.com's Ken Gurnick's report. An official press release from the team will come tomorrow.
I, for one, am ecstatic about the deal. First, they get much needed rotation depth without having to give up ANY of the kids. Second, the deal is for only three years. While we don't know what to expect from Kuroda, and while $35.3 million does seem a bit much for a middle-to-back-of-the-rotation guy, they do get some depth. This helps offset yesterday's trade that sent ace Dan Haren from Oakland to Arizona. The Dodgers now have a very formidable rotation that features Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Kuroda. A healthy Jason Schmidt would certainly help, or an effective Esteban Loaiza. One or the other will fill the fifth spot, probably Schmidt, while the other, likely Loaiza, will come out of the pen as a long reliever or spot starter.
Now all they have to do is find a taker for Juan Pierre and the Dodgers are set to go into Spring Training.
I, for one, am ecstatic about the deal. First, they get much needed rotation depth without having to give up ANY of the kids. Second, the deal is for only three years. While we don't know what to expect from Kuroda, and while $35.3 million does seem a bit much for a middle-to-back-of-the-rotation guy, they do get some depth. This helps offset yesterday's trade that sent ace Dan Haren from Oakland to Arizona. The Dodgers now have a very formidable rotation that features Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Kuroda. A healthy Jason Schmidt would certainly help, or an effective Esteban Loaiza. One or the other will fill the fifth spot, probably Schmidt, while the other, likely Loaiza, will come out of the pen as a long reliever or spot starter.
Now all they have to do is find a taker for Juan Pierre and the Dodgers are set to go into Spring Training.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Andruw, Kent, Kuroda and more...
Been a while since I've posted anything (been very busy lately) but I have some time now so I thought I'd chime in on some hot topics.
The Dodgers finally got their man: Andruw Jones is the new(est) center fielder. And I'm thrilled with it! They get the 30 year-old for only two years in a year when fellow free agent center fielders Torii Hunter got five years ($90M) at the age of 33 and Aaron Rowand got five years ($60M) from a team that needs a lot more help than what he can give them, and a year after Vernon Wells signed a $100M+ extension with Toronto.
Jones hit only .222 in 2007, but don't let that fool you. While he is only a .263 career hitter, he provides the Dodgers with a much need offensive threat in the middle of a lineup where only one player hit 20 HRs in 2007: Jeff Kent. And while many will argue he's on the down side of his career offensively, don't let that fool you either. Jones hit 51 HRs in 2005 but his production dropped to just 26 in 2007, in large part because of a glitch he picked up in his stance after the season and has corrected, and an elboy injury he quietly tried to play through all season, which is now sound and healthy. And while he may not hit 51 HRs in L.A., his numbers from 2007 would have been the highest on the Dodgers. If he's in fact healthy, you can bet he wont hit .222 again, and you can bet his 26 HRs will go back up (and keep in mind, Atlanta is a bigger park, and is tougher to hit HRs in). Jones also brings a Gold Glove caliber glove to center field, as well.
But the addition of Jones leaves the Dodgers with a surplus of outfielders. The Dodgers intention is to move weak-armed, no power-hitting Juan Pierre to left field; a big mistake if you ask me. Doing this not only weakens your offense by forcing Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp to the bench, it also exposes Pierre's defensive and throwing deficiencies. Now, any hit to left field will be an adventure watching him try to throw out runners going from first to third or second to home. The Dodgers have also made it be known they have no interest in trading Kemp (he's been asked for by a number of teams in trade talks, to which the Dodgers have steadfastly rejected all of them). Pierre's contract and lack of production (in spite of his .300 avg, 60+ SBs and 90+ runs scored) makes him nearly impossible to move. That leaves Ethier as the odd man out. Unfortunately, an outfield of Ethier-Jones-Kemp is the best combination of all the outfielders on the roster, and right now that looks like it has no chance of happening. (In fact, Pierre might just be the fifth best outfielder on the team behind the aforementioned AND Delwyn Young.) I sure hope Joe Torre is smart enough to see this in spring training and really gives the Ethier-Jones-Kemp trio a chance to be the best outfield in the league.
Speaking of Jeff Kent, he is returning for his final season. And since it has already been mentioned in this space, I wont bore you with the details of what happened between Kent and Loney and Kemp in September, except to add you can bet Torre will not allow any of that to happen under his helm. But knowing Kent will be back and will be in the lineup brings more stability to what was a shaky offense in 2007. And hopefully a Kemp and James Loney can stretch out what they did in 2007 into full seasons in 2008. And if either LaRoche or Nomar have good seasons at third, the Dodgers could conceivably have six guys in their lineup with 20 or more HRs in 2008: Russell Martin, Loney, Jones, Kent, Kemp and Ethier.
And finally, for now, still no word on what is going on with Hiroki Kuroda. He left Japan for L.A. on Tuesday night amid reports in Japan that he had chosen the Dodgers over Seattle, Arizona and KC. But so far, he has not informd any of those clubs who he intends to sign with. As of right now, he is visiting with his San Diego-based agent going over all the offers, and it appears the Dodgers have become the front-runners for his services.
More in a bit.
Stay tuned...
The Dodgers finally got their man: Andruw Jones is the new(est) center fielder. And I'm thrilled with it! They get the 30 year-old for only two years in a year when fellow free agent center fielders Torii Hunter got five years ($90M) at the age of 33 and Aaron Rowand got five years ($60M) from a team that needs a lot more help than what he can give them, and a year after Vernon Wells signed a $100M+ extension with Toronto.
Jones hit only .222 in 2007, but don't let that fool you. While he is only a .263 career hitter, he provides the Dodgers with a much need offensive threat in the middle of a lineup where only one player hit 20 HRs in 2007: Jeff Kent. And while many will argue he's on the down side of his career offensively, don't let that fool you either. Jones hit 51 HRs in 2005 but his production dropped to just 26 in 2007, in large part because of a glitch he picked up in his stance after the season and has corrected, and an elboy injury he quietly tried to play through all season, which is now sound and healthy. And while he may not hit 51 HRs in L.A., his numbers from 2007 would have been the highest on the Dodgers. If he's in fact healthy, you can bet he wont hit .222 again, and you can bet his 26 HRs will go back up (and keep in mind, Atlanta is a bigger park, and is tougher to hit HRs in). Jones also brings a Gold Glove caliber glove to center field, as well.
But the addition of Jones leaves the Dodgers with a surplus of outfielders. The Dodgers intention is to move weak-armed, no power-hitting Juan Pierre to left field; a big mistake if you ask me. Doing this not only weakens your offense by forcing Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp to the bench, it also exposes Pierre's defensive and throwing deficiencies. Now, any hit to left field will be an adventure watching him try to throw out runners going from first to third or second to home. The Dodgers have also made it be known they have no interest in trading Kemp (he's been asked for by a number of teams in trade talks, to which the Dodgers have steadfastly rejected all of them). Pierre's contract and lack of production (in spite of his .300 avg, 60+ SBs and 90+ runs scored) makes him nearly impossible to move. That leaves Ethier as the odd man out. Unfortunately, an outfield of Ethier-Jones-Kemp is the best combination of all the outfielders on the roster, and right now that looks like it has no chance of happening. (In fact, Pierre might just be the fifth best outfielder on the team behind the aforementioned AND Delwyn Young.) I sure hope Joe Torre is smart enough to see this in spring training and really gives the Ethier-Jones-Kemp trio a chance to be the best outfield in the league.
Speaking of Jeff Kent, he is returning for his final season. And since it has already been mentioned in this space, I wont bore you with the details of what happened between Kent and Loney and Kemp in September, except to add you can bet Torre will not allow any of that to happen under his helm. But knowing Kent will be back and will be in the lineup brings more stability to what was a shaky offense in 2007. And hopefully a Kemp and James Loney can stretch out what they did in 2007 into full seasons in 2008. And if either LaRoche or Nomar have good seasons at third, the Dodgers could conceivably have six guys in their lineup with 20 or more HRs in 2008: Russell Martin, Loney, Jones, Kent, Kemp and Ethier.
And finally, for now, still no word on what is going on with Hiroki Kuroda. He left Japan for L.A. on Tuesday night amid reports in Japan that he had chosen the Dodgers over Seattle, Arizona and KC. But so far, he has not informd any of those clubs who he intends to sign with. As of right now, he is visiting with his San Diego-based agent going over all the offers, and it appears the Dodgers have become the front-runners for his services.
More in a bit.
Stay tuned...
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