When Ned Colletti joined the Dodgers everyone lamented that he was a Brain Sabean Clone and would gut our farm system.  Instead, Ned Colletti surrounded himself with a cadre of solid talent evaluators and sound baseball people, and then listened to their imput.  The farm system was not gutted and is still in excellent condition, even with the graduation of many of it’s students.  At this juncture, I have to believe that the baseball people in the Dodgers organization are among the best, if not THE best, in all of baseball.  Consider who we have:  De Jon Watson, Kim Ng, Logan White, Tim Hallgren, Bill Lajoie, Toney Howell, Vance Lovelace, Bill Mueller, Mark Weidemaier, Rick Ragazzo, Luchy  Guerra -  That’s a pretty impressive (and eclectic) mix of baseball people, and Ned evidently values their input.

I think the master plan includes continual development and growth from a farm system that wants to be the best in baseball and puts the best handlers and teachers of players on the field (guys like Torre, Bowa, Easler, Mattingly, Clines, McCray and Vizcaino - that is obvious.  However, I think the master plan runs much deeper than that.  Part of that plan includes replacing Ned himself with Logan White.  Read the rest of this entry »

Not much happened “player-wise” on the Dodger front, unless you want to count Mike Myers and Tom Martin being invited to Spring Training as “news,” but a lot was going on behind the baseball scenes.  I don’t want to marginalize either Martin or Myers, and either could make the team, as LH are rare birds, but it is doubtful that either will make the team this year - however we can always hope.  Relievers are quite fickle in that they are good to you one year and then just blow you off for a couple more years.  Do Myers or Martin have anything left?  History says you can never tell.  I am of the opinion that Chan Ho Park might make the team, but I’ll leave Martin & Myers to the soothsayers.   Let’s see, what else? Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE:  Don Mattingly replaced as Hitting Coach by Mike Easler for personal resaons (can you say “messy divorce”?).  Easler is a good replacement and Donnie Ballgame will be back before the season is over.  It’s a classy move by the Dodgers.  That’s all I have to say about it right now! 

NOW, BACK  TO THE ISSUE AT HAND:  I think this juncture is an appropriate time to consider how our bullpen might shakeout over the next few months.  Of course, there are always unknowns and I just don’t know what I don’t know.  However, I do have a few things figured out and I also have some opinions and predictions of what I expect to happen.  What I know is that the back-end of our pen is strong with Saito as closer, Broxton as setup and Beimel and Proctor at the ready.  Those four pitchers are as good as any four at their positions in all of baseball.    The next two or three pitchers in the pen is where we will win or lose the pennant and that’s what this piece is all about.  Who will those next 2 or 3 pitchers be?  I have an idea and here’s

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With the signing of Jason Repko and Scott Proctor, Joe Beimel became the only Dodger player still facing arbitration.  Last year, Kim Ng cleaned his agents’ clock and I can only suppose that Joe Sroba, his agent, wants a measure of revenge.  Beimel had to settle for $912,000 last year when he lost at arbitration.  This year, the Dodgers are offering $1.7 million and Sroba is countering with $2.15 million.  If it goes to the arbitrator, Sroba will lose again.  The Dodgers have offered Beimel almost a million dollar raise, and while I do not want to discount the importance of this lefty in the bullpen, his ERA rose a full point last season to 3.88.  Kim Ng will hammer the fact that he is getting a $800,000 raise while his ERA increased dramatically.  Unless Sroba is a complete idiot, he will try and accept a compromise with the Dodgers of say, $1.85 million.  Let’s get it done and get on down to Vero!  Read the rest of this entry »