I knew there was a reason I didn't like Ned Colletti and it is more than just his stupid mustache.
The Dodgers are this close to being a championship caliber team, and the 2009-2010 off-season is crucial for this team as far as taking the next step.
The moves they make will determine whether they will take the next logical step after reaching two consecutive National League Championship Series', or if they sink back with the rest of the pack.
Judging on the players they are looking at and they moves they have made, or might make, I'm gonna say this team falls back to the pack and I will never forgive Colletti, because this team is really close to being really good.
For starters, not offering arbitration to anybody was just flat out stupid. Randy Wolf was an obvious arbitration choice, and I even think Orlando Hudson was as well.
Both would have likely rejected. Wolf probably a 99 percent chance and Hudson a 90 percent chance. They both want multi-year deals.
Those are two high draft picks that have just been thrown away. And if one of them did accept? So what? You have a very good player at that position for under $10 mil a year. No chance they both would have accepted.
Colletti said not offering Wolf arb was "strictly from a baseball perspective." What does that even mean? It doesn't mean anything and Colletti sounds stupid. It either means his baseball perspective is horrible or its code that the sink is shipping with the divorce.
I am sure that the McCourt's splitting up has something to do with it, however this team has money. A lot of salary came off the books and even with raises due to a handful of youngsters, the payroll will still probably be less than last year.
So then you start to look at some of the players the Dodgers are rumored to be in on.
Marco Scutaro is an average defender at best, he's about the same kind of hitter as Hudson, he'll cost about the same and he costs a draft pick. Makes no sense.
Jamey Carroll. Are you kidding me? He's my size, he's 35 and might as well have a wet newspaper in his hand when he comes to bat.
Two relievers, Kameron Loe and Luis Ayala. Loe had an ERA of 6.33 in Japan last year. Ayala had a 5.62 ERA last year while pitching for two teams. Vomit.
Noah Lowry. He hasn't pitched since August of 2007, he's made more than 30 starts just once and he's never had a WHIP lower than 1.29. The only time it was lower than that was in his first season, which consisted of only 14 starts. His career WHIP is 1.38.
Apparently this club is going with patchwork to fill out the rotation, bullpen and the void at second base. If they do that, and don't pick up a Roy Halladay or sign a couple of upside pitchers like Erik Bedard, Rich Harden or Ben Sheets, this team will have to scratch and claw with the Giants and Rockies to win the West. They won't be a World Series contender without at least one big move.
McCourt is in some deep shit.
I cant watch this shit...our team is bankrupt, our team is bankrupt despite leading the NL in attendance...our team is bankrupt despite leading the MLB in attendance...OUR TEAM IS FUCKING BROKE!!!!!!!!! THE LOS ANGLES DODGERS HAVE NO FUCKING MONEY TO IMPROVE THIS TEAM....I hope my fury and anger is coming through in this because that is inexcusable....I will not attend any dodger game or purchase anything LA related because I want Frank out....any money that people pay for the Dodgers will help out Frank not the Dodgers you cheap East Coast fuck who cant keep his wife from going down on the limo driver!!!! Your pathetic Frank let Jamie run the Dodgers she has bigger balls and more money than you do Frank....
Just lit up the Dodgers corporate number 323 224 1500 (in case you were wondering), here are some of the high lights
My first question...why should I pay for tickets to help a owner who isnt going to spend money (in fact they are going to cut payroll) to win. Answers
Mary the receptionist...dont ever fucking tell a fan that how the owner runs his team is his business...its not when he depends on the 3,761,669 fans that came through the door last year the only smart thing you did was transfer me instead of hanging up, but your stupid and that answer isnt acceptable, Frank answers to the fans, watch when attendance drops how quickly he sells the mother fucker and the new owner replaces you and then tell me its his business!
Transfered to Public Relations or probably some poor intern who gets to talk to me
Brett the PR guy...after testing my Dodger and baseball knowledge and challenging me on what the Dodgers needs are, I kept asking him if my answers were satisfactory enough (they were) told me that at the end of the day FAITH would have to be my reason for supporting the Dodgers. I told him the Dodgers will never lose my faith and support and I can always watch them on my TV, but FRANK needs butts in the seats...Brett had little to respond to that.
Question...How can you defend not offering Wolf arb...Bretts answer
I thought it was a fifty fifty call and that Wolf had his best year last year and we didnt want to get locked in.
My response...fifty fifty???where does the other fifty come from and the fact that Wolf singed a multiyear extention today means that hands down it was a horrible decision to not get free draft picks! And now we need two quality starting pitchers in our rotation and no draft picks.
Brett responded about financial by saying you hear rumors from everywhere and cant believe them all
My quick response...Are the reports by FORBES MAGAZINE and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL rumors or are they pretty damn credible sources?
Brett...there are credible sources out there and those would be fairly credible, but the economy is bad...(Brett was cut off quickly)
My Response...You dont need to tell fans who work day and night jobs for a living the economy is bad, you dont need to tell someone who cant find work anywhere in the town he wants to live in (SEATTLE) that the economy is bad...but Brett we still came out and made the Dodgers have the highest attendance in the show!!!! And McCourt is going to remind us that the economy is bad??? COCK SUCKER!!!
Brett you were a good sport and your right that at the end of the day you are worried more about your job then how the Dodgers are doing...But from a fan struggling in the economy HAVING THE DODGERS DO WELL CHEERS ME UP YOU FUCKING MORON!!!!! its something I can look forward to at the end of the day, its makes my wife happier that I'm not yelling and screaming at the TV.
SORRY FOR ALL THE FBOMBS AND SUCH BUT I'M FUCKING PIST watching this offseason unfold and what the Dodgers front office is saying.
I am with you about being unhappy. We as Dodger fans should be. And Lasorda, I appreciate your dedication and your guile, for making that phone call and voicing your opinion. Everything you said was right on point.
Thanks for the support guys, one thing I keep hearing is that the Dodgers already have three starters penciled in for Spring w/ Kuroda, Bills and Kershaw...but Kuroda has been hurt throughout his Dodger career and hasnt pitched a full season despite the hard japaneese work ethic...with that in mind we only can fully depend on Bills and Kershaw, our starting pitching is worse off this year than last years which didnt get it done...give us some hope going into Christmas for crying out loud!!
we cannot count on kuroda... the starting pitching situation is a mess, the team needs in infielder, a utilty player and a bullpen arm... things are looking bad...
Dont worry we are going after Jamey Carroll all is well and we will be poised for another championship run!!!! What a waste of time...good thing that McCourt wants the tradition back....of being the DODGER BUMS!!!!
Great job trading Pierre for a back of the rotation starter...oh wait, we dont even know what we got for him...unless its two top notch prospects that we can flip for pitching (which it wont be) we got F#$KED because we will pay 10.5 million for someone to take him off our hands....but Frank will save eight million for it which he can use for his lawyer fees in court...I actually want Jamie to get the team now...she knew Frank sucked which is why she started balling the limo driver, he probably knew more about the dodgers than her husband
Even better just looked at the two pitchers to be named later and they arent even on the Whitesox top ten prospects list...great trade for one of the best leadoff hitters in the game who averages .301 a .348OBP, and 45 steals per season....And word on every street except here in LA LA land is there is definetly a spending freeze on the Dodgers.
You are right, they didn't get shit for him. Great fucking move Frank. Just to save a few bucks. Now when Manny gets hurt or quits on the team, they have no one to fill the void.
This F'ing team.
I'm going to start following hockey...this is one of the most brutal things to watch and read, my faith is completly rocked, Colleti signed a five year deal to be a stooge!!!!! What I cant figure out is why Torre would be apart of this, we can also cross Donny Ballgame off the list of managers after next year, why the hell would he want to be part of this FU*KING MESS!!!