With the startup of AJ Ellis facts, and it's entertaining joke facts, I was reminded of an argument I had with a friend after the 2010 season about the unseen advantages of Casey Blake. At the time I stated that an unseen benefit of Casey Blake was his tenacity at the plate, and with his tenacity he he aided the team in chasing pitchers out of the game early.
Now what's the benefit of this? In the modern age of closely watched pitch counts, and bullpen arms not seeing more than 2 games in a row, the amount of work that pitchers see is very closely watched. Let's give an example of how a three game series may work out if a team successfully extended their plate appearences in order to chase pitchers out of the game. Let's assume that with a bullpen of 7 pitchers 3 were used the night before going into the three game series leaving 4 fresh relievers. Assuming the batters work full counts, and they average one man on base each inning, then with 4 batters faced each inning the starter would pitch 100 pitches by the fifth and most likly be done at that point. If this can be repeated all three days, than with 4 innings of baseball left, 12 innings at least will need to be covered by the bullpen. That doesn't even include situational switches in order to set up lefty on lefty matchups. Basically, by the third game of the series the opposing team, now deep into their bullpen, will be useing their worst and most ineffective relievers to close out the series rather than their best. In fact in 2011, the two teams who saw the most pitches per plate appearence ranked number 1 and 2 runs scored as well.
In closing there is a great deal of unseen value to batters like AJ Ellis, whom so far this year is ranked 2nd in pitches seen per plate appearance and I wish the Dodgers had a few more batters like him.
Showing posts with label AJ Ellis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AJ Ellis. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Dodger's are number 1!
After one game the Dodgers are first in the West!
Well the post I wrote earlier today was supposed to be the game recap. However, as I began to write it I got sidetracked by what really was an incredible pitching effort Clayton Kershaw put forth. So now in this post I will do a quick recap of the game.
To start the game Kershaw threw better than anyone could have hoped for. After he finished Josh Lindblom, showed why he was picked to stay on the team with two shutout innings. Mike was his normal wild self, and after giving up a walk, he allowed one run, knocked in on a Jesus Guzman double. in his one inning of relief. Gurrier worked a scoreless inning, getting out on a double play. Jansen, allowed a two run homer, and I must say I'm a little worried about the number of homers he's allowed lately in spring training and here. To me it looks like he has slowed his fastball a few mph to get more control of his pitches, but also losing some of it's late movement. A close eye will need to be kept on him to make sure this doesn't blow up into another Broxton. And Guerra pitched a scoreless inning for the save. Overall a solid outing from the bullpen.
On the other side of the tape the Dodgers had a decent day as well. Kemp and Rivera both had good days with two hits apiece. Kemp hit his first homerun of the season, a high pop fly, that just happened to come down over the outfield scoreboard (and by inches). Also of note with Kemp is that he did not strike out at all, so perhaps we were all worried for nothing about his spring numbers. Kemp also was caught stealing, when he picked a bad pitch to run on, however, on the other side of things, the pitch was a fastball right down the middle of the plate, and Ethier who was up to bat, should have taken a swing at the batting practice pitch. AJ Ellis performed as expected having a hit, and working out a bases loaded walk. In fact AJ didn't even swing his bat for the first 17 pitches he saw, and worked out full counts all three times he came up to the plate including his walk. I mean "wow" talk about patience at the plate. Also his single came off a ten pitch at bat. In all Ellis saw 27 pitches in just four at bats. Even more incredible was Juan Uribe managed to work himself a walk in between his two strikeouts. Now on to the distressing portion of the offense. Dee Gordon managed to walk away from the game 0 for 5. Now I contest that he was actually 1 for 5 as his "triple" was labeled an "error". An error is defined as: a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder. Anyone, other than the scorer could see that the amount of effort it took Camron Maybin to track down Gordon's long fly ball was not, I repeat NOT, an ordinary effort. However, it was clear that Dee was not identifying the pitches well out of Volquez's hand. Also he did not show his bunt attack, something which given the effectiveness when combined with his speed, should be used at least once each game.
Overall it was a solid game by the Dodgers, but to quote Wills and Uribe's new shirt "You can do better!"
On the minor league side of things, the Dodgers High A affiliate, the Rancho Cucamunga Quakes, and AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes both lost. Despite that some prospects performed well. Future ace Zach Lee pitched 5 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and one walk, with 5 strikeouts. For the Topes some offense showed up to the game despite the loss. Castellanos played the whole game at second, went 1 for 4 with a triple and drew two walks and had two steals. Scott Van Slyke had a walk and went 2 for 4 with a homerun. Future backstop Fedex went 1 for 3 and worked 2 walks. Lastly, despite not getting a hit in 4 at bats, Sands knocked in 2, one with a walk, and the other on an error. Despite some great hitting from the Topes' they were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, which ultimately led to their loss.
Well the post I wrote earlier today was supposed to be the game recap. However, as I began to write it I got sidetracked by what really was an incredible pitching effort Clayton Kershaw put forth. So now in this post I will do a quick recap of the game.
To start the game Kershaw threw better than anyone could have hoped for. After he finished Josh Lindblom, showed why he was picked to stay on the team with two shutout innings. Mike was his normal wild self, and after giving up a walk, he allowed one run, knocked in on a Jesus Guzman double. in his one inning of relief. Gurrier worked a scoreless inning, getting out on a double play. Jansen, allowed a two run homer, and I must say I'm a little worried about the number of homers he's allowed lately in spring training and here. To me it looks like he has slowed his fastball a few mph to get more control of his pitches, but also losing some of it's late movement. A close eye will need to be kept on him to make sure this doesn't blow up into another Broxton. And Guerra pitched a scoreless inning for the save. Overall a solid outing from the bullpen.
On the other side of the tape the Dodgers had a decent day as well. Kemp and Rivera both had good days with two hits apiece. Kemp hit his first homerun of the season, a high pop fly, that just happened to come down over the outfield scoreboard (and by inches). Also of note with Kemp is that he did not strike out at all, so perhaps we were all worried for nothing about his spring numbers. Kemp also was caught stealing, when he picked a bad pitch to run on, however, on the other side of things, the pitch was a fastball right down the middle of the plate, and Ethier who was up to bat, should have taken a swing at the batting practice pitch. AJ Ellis performed as expected having a hit, and working out a bases loaded walk. In fact AJ didn't even swing his bat for the first 17 pitches he saw, and worked out full counts all three times he came up to the plate including his walk. I mean "wow" talk about patience at the plate. Also his single came off a ten pitch at bat. In all Ellis saw 27 pitches in just four at bats. Even more incredible was Juan Uribe managed to work himself a walk in between his two strikeouts. Now on to the distressing portion of the offense. Dee Gordon managed to walk away from the game 0 for 5. Now I contest that he was actually 1 for 5 as his "triple" was labeled an "error". An error is defined as: a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder. Anyone, other than the scorer could see that the amount of effort it took Camron Maybin to track down Gordon's long fly ball was not, I repeat NOT, an ordinary effort. However, it was clear that Dee was not identifying the pitches well out of Volquez's hand. Also he did not show his bunt attack, something which given the effectiveness when combined with his speed, should be used at least once each game.
Overall it was a solid game by the Dodgers, but to quote Wills and Uribe's new shirt "You can do better!"
On the minor league side of things, the Dodgers High A affiliate, the Rancho Cucamunga Quakes, and AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes both lost. Despite that some prospects performed well. Future ace Zach Lee pitched 5 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and one walk, with 5 strikeouts. For the Topes some offense showed up to the game despite the loss. Castellanos played the whole game at second, went 1 for 4 with a triple and drew two walks and had two steals. Scott Van Slyke had a walk and went 2 for 4 with a homerun. Future backstop Fedex went 1 for 3 and worked 2 walks. Lastly, despite not getting a hit in 4 at bats, Sands knocked in 2, one with a walk, and the other on an error. Despite some great hitting from the Topes' they were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, which ultimately led to their loss.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Another Solid W in the Books
Wow, two solid days of ball by the Dodgers, and now I have a lot to get caught up on.
I guess first we should start with the top of the lineup and Dee Gordon. Going into this spring there were many questions about Dee's ability to take a walk, and how that would reflect on his OBP. We were terrified when Dee stated "In reality, I can hit. So it helps me to be ready to swing and not look for a walk. I could always hit the ball", and yet he has already walked 3 times in less than a dozen plate appearences. It seems that the slight shortstop can't wait to watch analyst put their foot in their mouth as he sets himself up with a solid OBP through hitting and taking walks.
The next starter in the lineup who is showing his swag would be Matt Kemp. After seeing the first few games I started biting my nails, worrying about each at bat as Kemp took long hacks at his Kryptonite, the low and away slider. In his first three games, and nine at bats, Kemp struck out 5 times, almost all of these on sliders low and away. Today though, things were different. Today he had a single, sac fly, and one of his sky high rainbow home runs that just never comes down. Not only that, in his at bats today, the slider that was the thorn in his side before seemed to not be a problem as he laid off them today. My hope is that the first few days Kemp was just testing out which pitches he could hit, and which he couldn't and for the rest of the year he'll lay off the slider low and away.
Andre Either also continued his torrid hitting, grabbing himself a single and a triple. If there were any worries about him not coming back heathy from knee surgury, his base running has put those to rest. And even though we joke about the defense Either puts up in right, with two healthy legs this year, we may even see the tempermental lefty put up a better UZR this year.
The last starter I want to address is AJ Ellis who has also been laughing in the face of his critics. So far this spring AJ has had eight plate appearences with two hits and two walks. For those who were worried that his lack of power would keep him from getting walks, his two hits were both doubles including the one today that flew over the head of Josh Hamilton in center.
Overall four of the eight starters have impressed me so far this spring, and I have to give kudo's to Dave Hanson and his coaching as the Dodger bats look patient and lively so far this spring.
Now onto the guys who aren't going to make the team, but are still being impressive.
The first guy I want to talk about is Justin Sellers, and what a great grinder and ball player he looks to be. When I first saw him play at Dodger Stadium last year I imediately loved his glove, and figured he would be Juan Castro 2.0. But so far he has exceeded my expectations shown real growth as a ball player. All week when he has been playing, people have commented on the fact that a guy with such a small frame swing the bat with his hands at the end of the handle. But they have also noticed that much like Jamey Carrol (who we can't deny was a OBP machine), Sellers will with two strikes will choke up on the bat to improve bat control. Right now in 11 plate appearences, Sellers has 4 hits and 2 walks. With his glove I'd be tempted to give Sellers the everyday 2B position right now, because his glove is just as good as Mark Ellis' and his OBP looks like it could project to be similar to Jamey Carrol's .360, an upgrade from Ellis' career .330 OBP mark.
Also impressing this spring is Josh Fields having 5 hits in 7 at bats including a triple and two doubles. Right now he is showing a swing that made him a first round pick for the White Sox in 04' and helped him hit .365 in 50 games in the Pacific Coast League last year. though he hasn't walked much it seems like he is not getting fooled, and is making solid contact.
Last on this list is Alex Castellanos, whose new nick name seems to be Castle. The former Cardinal who was drafted to play the infield, moved to the outfield, and has now come back to the infield has been on fire this spring. Right now in 7 at bats he has 4 hits including 2 home runs. The most impressive thing so far about his swing is his bat speed, which sends the bat head flying through the air, making his hits laser beams. If he can work on his patience at the plate to draw more walks and strike out less he could be a very potent hitter, especially if he stays at 2B.
A last quick note on hitters, Griff Erikson has 3 at bats and 2 hits, with a double. It looks like his offense may not be an illusion.
At this point, I'm actually more excited about the Dodgers AAA team then the Major league team. Right now with FedEx, and JD Closser catching, Sands at 1B, Castellanos at 2B, Sellers at SS, Josh Fields at 3B, and an outfield of Scott Van Slyke, Matt Angle, and Cory Sullivan, they are practically a Quad A team, and could most likely beat some major league teams, like the Astro's or Mariners. If I were in charge I'd take a long look at some of these guys to enhance the Dodger offense (if Colletti had not blocked them with multi year deals), and for things to be done sooner rather than later, as many of them are getting a little to old to still be prospects (Fields is 29, Sellers is 26, Van Slyke and Castellanos are both 25)
Also quick note on the pitching: starters seem ok, the bullpen looks to be awesome. I'd look for Scott Rice to possibly be picked up as a second lefty reliever after the spring he's been putting up.
I guess first we should start with the top of the lineup and Dee Gordon. Going into this spring there were many questions about Dee's ability to take a walk, and how that would reflect on his OBP. We were terrified when Dee stated "In reality, I can hit. So it helps me to be ready to swing and not look for a walk. I could always hit the ball", and yet he has already walked 3 times in less than a dozen plate appearences. It seems that the slight shortstop can't wait to watch analyst put their foot in their mouth as he sets himself up with a solid OBP through hitting and taking walks.
The next starter in the lineup who is showing his swag would be Matt Kemp. After seeing the first few games I started biting my nails, worrying about each at bat as Kemp took long hacks at his Kryptonite, the low and away slider. In his first three games, and nine at bats, Kemp struck out 5 times, almost all of these on sliders low and away. Today though, things were different. Today he had a single, sac fly, and one of his sky high rainbow home runs that just never comes down. Not only that, in his at bats today, the slider that was the thorn in his side before seemed to not be a problem as he laid off them today. My hope is that the first few days Kemp was just testing out which pitches he could hit, and which he couldn't and for the rest of the year he'll lay off the slider low and away.
Andre Either also continued his torrid hitting, grabbing himself a single and a triple. If there were any worries about him not coming back heathy from knee surgury, his base running has put those to rest. And even though we joke about the defense Either puts up in right, with two healthy legs this year, we may even see the tempermental lefty put up a better UZR this year.
The last starter I want to address is AJ Ellis who has also been laughing in the face of his critics. So far this spring AJ has had eight plate appearences with two hits and two walks. For those who were worried that his lack of power would keep him from getting walks, his two hits were both doubles including the one today that flew over the head of Josh Hamilton in center.
Overall four of the eight starters have impressed me so far this spring, and I have to give kudo's to Dave Hanson and his coaching as the Dodger bats look patient and lively so far this spring.
Now onto the guys who aren't going to make the team, but are still being impressive.
The first guy I want to talk about is Justin Sellers, and what a great grinder and ball player he looks to be. When I first saw him play at Dodger Stadium last year I imediately loved his glove, and figured he would be Juan Castro 2.0. But so far he has exceeded my expectations shown real growth as a ball player. All week when he has been playing, people have commented on the fact that a guy with such a small frame swing the bat with his hands at the end of the handle. But they have also noticed that much like Jamey Carrol (who we can't deny was a OBP machine), Sellers will with two strikes will choke up on the bat to improve bat control. Right now in 11 plate appearences, Sellers has 4 hits and 2 walks. With his glove I'd be tempted to give Sellers the everyday 2B position right now, because his glove is just as good as Mark Ellis' and his OBP looks like it could project to be similar to Jamey Carrol's .360, an upgrade from Ellis' career .330 OBP mark.
Also impressing this spring is Josh Fields having 5 hits in 7 at bats including a triple and two doubles. Right now he is showing a swing that made him a first round pick for the White Sox in 04' and helped him hit .365 in 50 games in the Pacific Coast League last year. though he hasn't walked much it seems like he is not getting fooled, and is making solid contact.
Last on this list is Alex Castellanos, whose new nick name seems to be Castle. The former Cardinal who was drafted to play the infield, moved to the outfield, and has now come back to the infield has been on fire this spring. Right now in 7 at bats he has 4 hits including 2 home runs. The most impressive thing so far about his swing is his bat speed, which sends the bat head flying through the air, making his hits laser beams. If he can work on his patience at the plate to draw more walks and strike out less he could be a very potent hitter, especially if he stays at 2B.
A last quick note on hitters, Griff Erikson has 3 at bats and 2 hits, with a double. It looks like his offense may not be an illusion.
At this point, I'm actually more excited about the Dodgers AAA team then the Major league team. Right now with FedEx, and JD Closser catching, Sands at 1B, Castellanos at 2B, Sellers at SS, Josh Fields at 3B, and an outfield of Scott Van Slyke, Matt Angle, and Cory Sullivan, they are practically a Quad A team, and could most likely beat some major league teams, like the Astro's or Mariners. If I were in charge I'd take a long look at some of these guys to enhance the Dodger offense (if Colletti had not blocked them with multi year deals), and for things to be done sooner rather than later, as many of them are getting a little to old to still be prospects (Fields is 29, Sellers is 26, Van Slyke and Castellanos are both 25)
Also quick note on the pitching: starters seem ok, the bullpen looks to be awesome. I'd look for Scott Rice to possibly be picked up as a second lefty reliever after the spring he's been putting up.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Building on a Budget/ AKA Misappropriation of Funds
Looking back on this offseason, things did not go well. Some (hopefully the new owner) needs to kick Ned out the door before he can do any more damage to the team. During the 2011 season the Dodgers were the third oldest team National league team averaging 29.8 years per player. Something hard to imagin when a few years ago in 2008 the promotions kept talking about the "young guns" and the wealth of talent under 30 avaiable (i.e. Kemp, Either, Loney, Kershaw, Billingsley, Martin, Kuo). At that time the Dodgers were the 7th youngest National League team and looked like they could only get better. Here we are 4 years later, with a few guns gone, and the team keeps getting older. Using the 25 man roster set up on TrueBlueLA the Dodgers of 2012 will average 30.4 years per player. Even worse most of these players are locked up for 2 years, so the team will continue it trend towards becoming gray into the 2013 season as well.
Looking at this information, you're most likly thinking that I'm about to go into a big rant about Ned having his head up his ass, or how he wants to use a time machine and go back to 2005 when these players were good, or even maybe he felt bad for all the vetrans who were going to be let go in the bad economy and he just wanted to charity them a finacial furture. All in all I'm not going to say any more about it, because frankly my desk is bloody and about to break from my head hitting it. So it could be the concussion that I've given myself talking, but I'm gonna have a fun little juant into fantasy land, and build myself a better team in my head.
For this exercise in futility I'm only going to use free agents, and will only touch the batting and fielding side of the problem for now.
For next season the Dodgers will be losing 4 relevent bats from the roster, Barajas, Carrol, Miles, and Blake. To fill those spots, Mark Ellis, Adam Kennedy, and Jerry Hairston Jr have been signed to join the team, as well as AJ Ellis is finally getting his first chance at being the main catcher. The other signing was bringing back Juan Rivera to block Jerry Sands (Thank you Ned). We'll start off with the one decent offensive signing this year (the rest are just offensive), which would be Jerry Hairston Jr. A true utility player who can play solid defense at any spot on the infield and outfield, look for him to be a Jamey Carrol 2.0 with not as good an OBP, but more pop. I can also get behind the Dodgers finally letting AJ Ellis get a shot at the majors. While Ellis has been know as a defensive specialist, he has a secret power: he get's on base. In the minors Ellis held over a 400 OBP for his career. And guess who had the best OBP of any catcher with more than 100 PA, that's right! AJ Ellis with a phenomenal 392 OBP. So why am I so high on AJ Ellis despite him being a light hitting catcher. Well, unless you hit home runs during every At Bat, then someone needs to be on base in front in order for a run to score. AJ is that man on base. So in summary, "Do I care how he gets on base?" looks over at imaginary Jonah Hill, and Jonah responds "No he does not".
Alright on to disagreements. First order of business is Juan Rivera. Yes, it was great when you were picked up near the end of the year from being dropped and provided a boost of offense, but are you worth 4 million, sorry no. Especially when it becomes 4 million being paid to esential block Jerry Sands from playing. Looking at thier numbers, Rivera had a 333 OBP and 406 SLG for a 740 OPS for the Dodgers last season while Sands had a 338 OBP and 389 SLG for a 727 OPS. Not a lot of difference between those lines, plus Sands is nearly 10 years younger, plays better defense with a better arm, and can improve on last season's stats. Rivera on the other hand, is over the hill and will be lucky to be within 50 points of his stats. So Rivera get's cut, and guess what Ned, I just saved you 4 million on payroll.
Next, assuming Kennedy and Ellis are never signed, (wow that's another 9.5 million over 2 years or 13.5 million total over 2) left handed and right handed bench bats are needed as well as the every day second baseman. Here's where things get interesting, if I had my way I would drop Uribe from the lineup entirely to have him sit in the club house (He doesn't even deserve to sit on the bench), and occasionaly be allowed out to fan Kershaw on the bench, but the Dodgers wouldn't stand paying 8 million for someone to do nothing. So instead I turn to Justin Sellers, whose glove is just as good as Ellis's is, plus he's 8 years younger, and could be a potential plus with his batting. Basically, if you're going to have an offesive black hole at second, why not play the black hole that cost 400k (plus he may develope some offensive value) rather than the one that is costing nearly 9 mil over 2 years. Now for the bench bats I would propose picking up Wilson Betemit (he signed for 3.25 over 2, so we'll say 3.5 over 2 to get him, and subracting that we still save 10 million) and Brooks Conrad (he signed a minor league contract, so I'll say 800k major league contract would get him). Now you must be thinking, that I'm crazy, to grab two switch hitters, both who have never hit more than 20 HRs for bench bats. But here's the fun part, I'd only be paying them to hit from one side each. Conrad, most notable from his 3 errors during the playoffs in 2010 destroys lefties to the tune of 358 OBP, and 465 SLG for an OPS of 863, and Betemit rakes righties with a 347 OBP, 470 SLG for an OPS of 817. Also both have positional flexibilty to take over at second base or third, allowing for them not just to only pinch hitters, but role players as well. While Conrad and Betemit are not spring chickens they are younger than Kennedy and Mark Ellis, and bring the average age of the 25 man roster down to 29.7, making the Dodgers younger than they were last year. So in summary Blake, Barajas, Carrol, Miles and Rivera put together a line of 324 OBP, 375 SLG for an OPS of 699. My setup of Betemit, Conrad, Ellis, Hairston, Sands, and Sellers is worth 338 OBP, 381 SLG for an OPS of 719 for 9 million less. Which is worth more to you?
Looking at this information, you're most likly thinking that I'm about to go into a big rant about Ned having his head up his ass, or how he wants to use a time machine and go back to 2005 when these players were good, or even maybe he felt bad for all the vetrans who were going to be let go in the bad economy and he just wanted to charity them a finacial furture. All in all I'm not going to say any more about it, because frankly my desk is bloody and about to break from my head hitting it. So it could be the concussion that I've given myself talking, but I'm gonna have a fun little juant into fantasy land, and build myself a better team in my head.
For this exercise in futility I'm only going to use free agents, and will only touch the batting and fielding side of the problem for now.
For next season the Dodgers will be losing 4 relevent bats from the roster, Barajas, Carrol, Miles, and Blake. To fill those spots, Mark Ellis, Adam Kennedy, and Jerry Hairston Jr have been signed to join the team, as well as AJ Ellis is finally getting his first chance at being the main catcher. The other signing was bringing back Juan Rivera to block Jerry Sands (Thank you Ned). We'll start off with the one decent offensive signing this year (the rest are just offensive), which would be Jerry Hairston Jr. A true utility player who can play solid defense at any spot on the infield and outfield, look for him to be a Jamey Carrol 2.0 with not as good an OBP, but more pop. I can also get behind the Dodgers finally letting AJ Ellis get a shot at the majors. While Ellis has been know as a defensive specialist, he has a secret power: he get's on base. In the minors Ellis held over a 400 OBP for his career. And guess who had the best OBP of any catcher with more than 100 PA, that's right! AJ Ellis with a phenomenal 392 OBP. So why am I so high on AJ Ellis despite him being a light hitting catcher. Well, unless you hit home runs during every At Bat, then someone needs to be on base in front in order for a run to score. AJ is that man on base. So in summary, "Do I care how he gets on base?" looks over at imaginary Jonah Hill, and Jonah responds "No he does not".
Alright on to disagreements. First order of business is Juan Rivera. Yes, it was great when you were picked up near the end of the year from being dropped and provided a boost of offense, but are you worth 4 million, sorry no. Especially when it becomes 4 million being paid to esential block Jerry Sands from playing. Looking at thier numbers, Rivera had a 333 OBP and 406 SLG for a 740 OPS for the Dodgers last season while Sands had a 338 OBP and 389 SLG for a 727 OPS. Not a lot of difference between those lines, plus Sands is nearly 10 years younger, plays better defense with a better arm, and can improve on last season's stats. Rivera on the other hand, is over the hill and will be lucky to be within 50 points of his stats. So Rivera get's cut, and guess what Ned, I just saved you 4 million on payroll.
Next, assuming Kennedy and Ellis are never signed, (wow that's another 9.5 million over 2 years or 13.5 million total over 2) left handed and right handed bench bats are needed as well as the every day second baseman. Here's where things get interesting, if I had my way I would drop Uribe from the lineup entirely to have him sit in the club house (He doesn't even deserve to sit on the bench), and occasionaly be allowed out to fan Kershaw on the bench, but the Dodgers wouldn't stand paying 8 million for someone to do nothing. So instead I turn to Justin Sellers, whose glove is just as good as Ellis's is, plus he's 8 years younger, and could be a potential plus with his batting. Basically, if you're going to have an offesive black hole at second, why not play the black hole that cost 400k (plus he may develope some offensive value) rather than the one that is costing nearly 9 mil over 2 years. Now for the bench bats I would propose picking up Wilson Betemit (he signed for 3.25 over 2, so we'll say 3.5 over 2 to get him, and subracting that we still save 10 million) and Brooks Conrad (he signed a minor league contract, so I'll say 800k major league contract would get him). Now you must be thinking, that I'm crazy, to grab two switch hitters, both who have never hit more than 20 HRs for bench bats. But here's the fun part, I'd only be paying them to hit from one side each. Conrad, most notable from his 3 errors during the playoffs in 2010 destroys lefties to the tune of 358 OBP, and 465 SLG for an OPS of 863, and Betemit rakes righties with a 347 OBP, 470 SLG for an OPS of 817. Also both have positional flexibilty to take over at second base or third, allowing for them not just to only pinch hitters, but role players as well. While Conrad and Betemit are not spring chickens they are younger than Kennedy and Mark Ellis, and bring the average age of the 25 man roster down to 29.7, making the Dodgers younger than they were last year. So in summary Blake, Barajas, Carrol, Miles and Rivera put together a line of 324 OBP, 375 SLG for an OPS of 699. My setup of Betemit, Conrad, Ellis, Hairston, Sands, and Sellers is worth 338 OBP, 381 SLG for an OPS of 719 for 9 million less. Which is worth more to you?
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