It's Been NOT So Nice Knowin' Ya...
Yeah, you're smiling in this picture.
But Mr. Paul DePodesta, you've got to go!
And today was my lucky day, (and I can see Bahb doing backflips already!).
The Dodgers fired DePodesta today!
Why?
``Our high expectations were not met,'' McCourt said at an afternoon news conference at Dodger Stadium. ``I like Paul. He has many positive attributes. It was difficult, but at the end of the day, that's my job, to make difficult decisions.''
This could be my chance.
I am ready to take over the mess that DePodesta left, especially since I won't be working for the Yankees after the Cashman re-signing.
I couldn't do any worse than DePo, The Dodgers went 71-91 in the worst division in baseball.
And that is after taking over a team that won the division last year, despite his questionable late-season trades of Paul LoDuca and Guillermo Mota, for Brad Penny and Hee-Seop Choi.
It was a strange trade at the time, Penny was coming off an injury, Choi had nothing going for him except a high On-Base percentage. Meanwhile, they rejected a trade from the Astros (I forget the details) that would have sent Mota to the 'Stros, stating Mota was not for sale.
Losing LoDuca was crazy, he was the clubhouse leader. It made no sense.
All I would have to do is hire a manager, and get this team to .500, and I'm golden until '07.
Yes, manager Jim Tracy was fired Oct. 3, and no replacement has been hired.
I don't think Tracy was the problem, and neither did the Pirates. They hired Tracy 8 days later.
Here's my early thoughts on running the Dodgers.
I'm only going to talk about free agent signings, I'll get to trades later.
We need pitching.
Free agents that should be sought, are first and foremost, AJ Burnett. Burnett is going to be in huge demand, so if getting him is going to tank the budget, keep looking.
I also like Jarrod Washburn, the move to the NL would be good for him. And he is the best lefty under 40 out there.
I like Kevin Millwood for the same reason, the move back to the NL.
In the infield.
Look to get Joe Randa from the Padres at 3rd Base, or even Bill Mueller from the Red Sox.
At 1st Base, look at Kevin Millar from the Red Sox, or Daryle Ward from the Pirates.
Adding an outfielder would be important.
I would start with Brian Giles of the Padres. But I also like Juan Encarnacion, but he may be over priced since he will be in high demand for teams looking for an outfielder.
Let's talk Matt Lawton, he could be an easy sign at $5 mil per year. He'll steal you bases, get about 20 HR's and hit about .280, for 5 mil a year, you could do worse.
As a new GM, I would have to make one really big money trade.
And that would be for Jorge Posada.
I would go after him for sure. I don't know what trades would have to be made, I would have to talk to Brian Cashman, but I'd do everything within reason to make that happen.
Jason Phillips is a good catcher, nothing wrong with him; but bringing a star to the team would energize the city and the team. Plus, Posada is a great leader, and it seems the Yanks are ready to move on. Posada's production was down this year, but that is compared to the Yankee sluggers, and on an off day he is still better than Phillips.
There you go, that is year one of The Fu2rman's regime as Dodger GM.
posted by The Fu2rman at 1:37 AM
4 Comments:
That team wouldn't be any better than the 2005 team. Randa, Millar, Ward, Encarnacion, and Lawton all suck. The pitchers you named are no better than what we've got, except possibly Millwood. But that sounds like the kind of team the McCourts are going to want, so I fear you might be right.
Scott,
You're killing me.
Do you really the Dodgers wouldn't be better than the '05 team with the addition of Matt Lawton or Encarnacion? That would make the OF Lawton/Encarnacion, Cruz Jr. and Bradley (once healthy). You can't be serious that Werth, Repko, or Ledee are better options.
As for the pitchers, Burnett and Washburn don't suck. Both had good ERA's, AJ B @ 3.44 and JW @ 3.20 (Ranked 13th and 18th of all pitchers), and AJ racked up 198 K's!
Keep Penny, keep Lowe, maybe even resign Weaver, add Millwood and Washburn, and you've got yourself a pitching staff.
That would be a team I would enjoy watching.
Thanks for stopping by Scott, hope you respond again.
I just have to tell you- i am not a dodger fan, so i don't really care about depodesta one way or another; but you sound like a complete idiot- have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode where George tells jerry that he has figured out a way to get Griffey, Bonds, and Sheffield in the same Yankee outfield???
That is basically what you sound like- do you really think the dodgers are going to replace five position players and two-thirds of their pitching staff???
Stop whacking off to unrealistic acquistions and come back to earth, then maybe we can have an intelligent conversation about baseball.
Anonymous,
First, I only mentioned 4 positions, 1st, 3rd, OF and Catcher. Also, I didn't think I had to clarify this, I guess I was wrong, but of course no team would be able to aquire all the players I mentioned.
These are all just possible options. Like the Yankee's may not be willing to deal Posada, so that would take that one off the table.
Seriously, they need an outfielder, I could have been "George" like you stated and said "I would get" Johnny Damon. But I was thinking more realisticly considering there would be many new contracts, and that would be far too expensive for a team that needs to rebuild.
I really don't think aquiring Millwood and Washburn is all that far fetched. Like I commented yesterday, 'Keep Penny, keep Lowe, maybe even resign Weaver, add Millwood and Washburn, and you've got yourself a pitching staff.' You could also pass on resigning Weaver, and just keep Odalis Perez.
Getting one of the free agent 1st or 3rd basemen, if you could work it, couldn't hurt.
That would be the addition of 3 to 4 free agents.
You see, I gave options for OF 1st and 3rd base, knowing full well getting everything I mentioned was out of the question. As a matter of fact, if you notice how I worded the 1st and 3rd possibilities, I said, "look at ....." I threw a few names out there for the outfield, but settled into Lawton, because I think he is signable.
Do you really think that is putting Bonds, Griffey and Sheff in the same outfield?
And if you would even consider anything about baseball worthy of whacking off too, you might want to try porn, at least until you can get a woman.
I guess talking crap is pretty easy when you post anonymous.
However, you sound like you have one redeaming quality, you must have some knowledge of the game.
Your question..."do you really think the dodgers are going to replace five position players and two-thirds of their pitching staff???"...was a good one.
And I hope this little comment has addressed that for you.
Thanks for stopping by....
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