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.

Putting Either back in line

Well it seems that yesterday, Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times put up an article stating how the Dodgers should lock up Andre Either while he is still on the cheap after a disappointing 2011 and 2010 season.
Taking all the emotion out of the equation, and looking at the entire Dodgers' organization my first reaction is to wait for Either's value to rise and then trade him to a contender some decent near major league ready second base and third base prospects; things the Dodger system is in dire need of, and replace him with the abundance of outfield prospects the Dodgers are currently grooming. Looking from afar, Either is a player whose numbers seem to be declining drasticaly as he ages. His OPS has dropped nearly 100 points in the last 4 years from 885 in '08 to 789 in '11. He plays a mediocre to bad defense in right, and not only has his power number been dropping, but he is also notoriously bad against left handed pitching, and accoridng to last years stats, he is getting worse. In 2010 he had a BB% of 7.3 and a K% of 20.2 against left handed pitching. Last year his BB% dropped to 4.6, and his K% rose to 27.2, both numbers going in the wrong direction. He has also been shown as having a negative effect on the clubhouse, blaming managers, and waisting AB's with poor attitude. From a non-emotional position, I see a good bat against righties, with a subpar attitude, who can't hit lefties, who isn't a great defender, and who's patience at the plate is getting worse with age, not better.
On the other hand, baseball is something we can't help but be romantic about, and has their been any other player who has pulled on our heartstings more in the past three years than Either. Whether it was his tenure as "Mr Clutch" hitting 11 walk off hits during the '08 to '10 seasons, or his most recent 30 game hit streak from this year, the man most certainly knows how to get us to cheer for him.
So where does that put us... Well no matter what at this point Either will be a Dodger for the first half of 2012. So let's say his tryout will be the first two months of the season. I say bat him 4th behind Kemp, so Kemp has protection and room to run. If Either shows some restraint, get's his walks back up, and flashes some of his old power, then I say throw him a 3 yr / 36 mil deal right then and there at the begining of June. If he does not show some grownup restraint, and the clubhouse issues resurface, then I say trade him and gut him for all he's worth (even if his power is back).