The Dodgers made it official today. they resigned Hiroki Kuroda to a 1 year 12 million dollar deal. I am very happy to hear this. Kuroda has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers for the Dodgers in recent years, and is now the Japanese MLB career leader for best ERA with a 3.60. some people feel the Dodgers are paying too much for the right hander, who turns 36 next year, and set career bests in innings pitched (196.3) strikeouts (159), and held opposing hitters to a .204 BAA after the all-star break.
Im glad Kuroda is coming back as he now rounds out a pretty formidable starting rotation in 2011. with Kershaw, Bills, Kuroda, and Lilly, the Dodgers have a strong rotation. although there are still many questions and holes to fill. which leads me to think, what should the Dodgers do for next year? better yet what would I do if I were the GM? well here is my plans for 2011. Please note this is only what I would do, not what the Dodgers are going to do. However, take it as you will, here is my two cents....
This will be broken down in several parts. the Outfield, the infield, Cather, starting pitching, The Bullpen, and the Bench. as I will be posting each players projected salary for 2011. please also note, we dont know exactly what the Dodgers payroll will actually be in 2011.
OUTFIELD
we all know the Dodgers need a left fielder, now that Manny is gone. the Dodgers are sorely lacking Power in their lineup, which before had come from LF. there going to need to sign someone. they dont need to have ruthian power, as they will be getting there power elsewhere (ill explain later). but someone who has some pop in their bat, and who can play a decent outfield. Heres the issue, the free agent pool for outfield this year is pretty thin, its slim pickens. the Dodgers are too cheap to sign anyone big like Carl Crawford, or Jayson Werth. were going to have to take a chance on someone. I like Marcus Thames.
Thames, has played most of his career for the Tigers, and played 2010 with the Yankees. he had an .841 OPS in 212 AB, while hitting 12 home runs. he was making 900,000 last year. hey a million for a year to an OF who has a career .802 OPS, and a solid glove is not bad. I think we could do worse.
of coarse Kemp and Ethier will be back. hopefully Kemp can build on his strong finish, and Ethier can have another solid season. I really like Jay Gibbons, and he could get some playing time in left, however hes a terrible outfielder and I think his power can be better served on the bench in late inning situations.
I have no problem with resigning POD for another year for cheap, but NOT AS A STARTER. I dont mind him staying on as a lefty bat off the bench with speed. otherwise dont sign him, and give Xavier Paul a chance to play. everyone else on every single blogsite aggrees with this.
OUTFIELD
LF-Marcus Thames-1Million
CF-Matt Kemp-6.95Million
RF-Andre Ethier-9.25Million
INFIELD
lets start at third base as this is really where the core of my plan is at. The Dodgers should sign Adrian Beltre. do I really need to explain why? hes kind of you know.....good. The former Dodger has become one of the best hitters in the American League and one of the premier third baseman in baseball.
yeah a third baseman who can actually hit! they are out there, you just have to find them. I know he will be expensive, but we could show him the money, and then penny pinch on everything else. this is the power bat the dodgers so desperatly need. it also allows casey blake, who is clearly cooked, to move to the bench, to become the lefty killing corner power bat off the bench.
im not sure how much Beltre would command, but its going to be pricey. time to break out the wallet! lets see last year he made 9 mil with the red sox. would 15 mil sound likly? remember Beltre batted .321 with a .919 OPS 28 home runs and 102 RBI. He will prolly sign for somwhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 mil.
I think that Jamey Carroll should be the starting second baseman for 2011. its not only cost effective, but very beneficial. Carroll filled in off the bench just about everywhere in 2010, and proving to be the Dodgers unsung hero. with a solid glove and great OBP skills Carroll should at least be considered. but we all know the Dodgers will bring back Mr. Tootblan, Ryan fucking Theriot, who is an attrocious hitter, and generally sucks balls. im predicting rampant tootblans in 2011. sigh
INFIELD
1B-James Loney-4mil
2B-Jamey Carroll-1.5 mil
3B-Adrian Beltre-12-15mil
SS-Hit Machine-12mil
CATCHER
this is another position surrounded by uncertainty. what do the Dodgers do with Russell Martin? who has sucked for the past two years. is Big Rod worth keeping? what the hell is with AJ Ellis? is he a hitter now?
lost of questions, the first decision to make is on Russell Martin, and I hate to say this but I think it is time we say goodbye to him. hey I like Martin too, but Torre played him to death, and his numbers have deteriorated over the past two seasons. seriously look at his numbers. he only drove in 26 runs all of 2010, before breaking his hip in early august. he should be healthy by spring training, but that doesnt matter, its time to let him go, besides he will prolly be non-tendered anyways.
this means that the starting job goes to AJ Ellis, and big rod remains as a backup. IM intrigued at looking at Ellis as he had that hot streak to finish the last month this year. however he did suck before and his defense was not good. but then again, in order to afford Beltre, we have to cut costs elsewhere, and paying 5 mil for a catcher who cant hit anymore, and has average defense is throwing money out the window. although the other guys cant throw anyone out on the bases, and Martin does have a good arm.
CATCHER
AJ Ellis-500,000K
Rod Barajas-500,000K
Starting pitching
so we know now that the top 4 is set. just that pesky 5th starter to fill. people shouldnt really worry about this too much. the 5th starter isnt of vital importance, and can sometimes be skipped over with off days and pushing guys up in the rotation. I would love to see Padilla resigned, but he might be the odd man out. with the budget restraints, and he is old and injury prone. im sorry to say Padilla wont be coming back, however we will all miss him and his soap bubbles.
so what to do about number 5? well lets see. obviously no one can stand another year of the monasterios/ely/reclamation project, or whoever the Dodgers dig up from the grave number 5 wormhole.
free agent pool is slim once again however there is an old friend that could help us. welcome back Jon Garland. now he was making about 4.7 mil last season, but I dont think he could get that much this year. im guessing 3-4 mil, although he did have a solid year, 14-12 3.47 200IP. but he is 31. he can eat up alot of innings which we need. we can still keep monster in the bullpen as a long man/emergency starter
STARTING ROTATION
Clayton Kershaw-500,000K
Chad Billingsly-3.85Mil
Hiroki Kuroda-12mil
Ted Lilly-11mil
Jon Garland-4mil
THE BULLPEN
I think the bullpen will see better times in 2011 once all of the bums are gone. you know who im talking about. time to say goodbye to Sherrill,Troncsucko, Dotel, and the rest. the bullpen should look like this.
Jonathon Broxton-7mil
Hong-Chih Kuo-1mil
Kenley Jansen-400,000K
Ronald Bellisario-400,000K
Jeff Weaver-500,000K
Scott Elbert-400,000K
Carlos Monasterios-400,000K
notable changes include replacing Sherrill with Elbert as the lefty specialist. obviously Sherrill is making 4 mil to be a complete and utter bum. elbert is young and cant do any worse. its time the Dodgers give him a chance. also resign Jeff Weaver as he is reliable when healthy. as long as Brox rebounds and doesnt start imploding again, and Kuo stays healthy, along with Jansen, who looked very impressive. I think this could be a much improved bullpen.
THE BENCH
this was one of the Dodgers biggest weaknesses in 2010. the bench was completly worthless, especially with bums like auto out and belliard wasting roster spots. now that those pieces of crap are finally gone, we can begin to rebuild the bench. remember were going for more power, although it is cheap power.
Gibbons, Blake, Big Rod provide some much needed pop from the bench. X man gets a chance to prove himself, and because we have to go cheap here, Mitchell can get the last spot.
LF/1BJay Gibbons-650,000K
LFXavier Paul-400,000K
3B/1BCasey Blake-5.25mil
LF/3B/1BRuss Mitchell-400,000K
C/Rod Barajas-500,000K
ok so lets add this up. remember this is all a guess. some players may be non-tendered, or arbitration, so I have no idea how much they will make in 2011.
total projected payroll-97-100 million
remember im not sugesting any trades, just smart spending. it is clear the dodgers can not contend next year without an improved offense.
at around 100 mil this gives an improved team. Beltre provides the all-star power bat in the middle of the lineup, and a solid 3B, the cooked blake goes to the bench, thames is a solid LF, Garland can eat up alot of innings in the number 5 spot, and the bench has improved power. all the while keeping the core lineup of Kemp/Ethier/Loney/Furcal intact.
well that would be my plan anyways. well continue to post throughout the winter. There isnt alot going on right now though. Stac will be back with her blue bios, so stay tuned, and go blue!
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