as the Dodgers continued their aggressive offseason approach by signing, Lilly, Kuroda, Garland, Uribe, and of coarse trading away the utterly useless Ryan Theriot to the Cardinals for Blake Hawksworth. They also faced touch decisions as to who to offer arbitration. they had already decided not to offer to POD, Big Rod, and Vicente Padilla. (Ill get to Padilla later).
it looks like Uncle Ned is busy at work, weeling and dealing trying to make sure that the nightmares of last season are never again repeated. but of coarse in order to do that in complete, the punchless offense must be improved.
a cloud of uncertainty hangs over catcher. as of right now, Aj Ellis is the only catcher signed udner contract. the farm system is picked clean, and the free agent market is terrible. so after Varitek resigned with Boston (yay! hes too old!, retread!), AJ Pierzynski resigned with chicago. there is three options, resign Martin at lower cost, resign big rod as backup to Ellis, or sign someone outside the organization like Migue Olivo. whatever the Dodgers decide it could go either way. I would understand if they dont want to take a chance on Martins health, and his declining numbers. then again with the market as bad as it is resigning Martin might be the best choice. there is reports that Ned is still negotiating with Martin. it would very sad to see Martin play for another team. he was a good catcher and a good hitter before torre played him to death. we all like martin and were hoping to see him finish his career in Dodger blue, but alas we may have seen the end of Martin as a Dodger. whatever happens the Dodgers need a catcher.
in other news, theres unconfirmed reports that the Dodgers have either resigned Vicente Padilla, or are close to resigning him. well have to watch this story to see what happens, but if it is true, the Dodgers pitching staff is really shaping into one hell of a....one hell of a.....well PITCHING STAFF! the reports say that Padilla would be used as a staff utility guy for depth. he could be a spot starter, pitch in long relief, or even close if necessary. as I said earlier they declined to offer him arbitration, so they are free to sign him. I like this move as we all know that when Padilla is healthy he is a very effective pitcher.
in other baseball news, Adam Dunn also known as the ogre, has signed a 56 million dollar contract with the White Sox. waiving his no DH clause. so there goes that plan! eh the dodgers werent going to sign him anyways, but im glad hes in the american league, and we wont have to pitch to him!
There are also reports the Dodgers are very close to resigning big rod, so there you go. The Dodgers are also reportedly interested in Johnny Damon for LF.
rumors are flying! hot stove is swirling! dont step away, we will be providing you with all the hot stove breaking news, and more Blue Bios! so stay tuned to your number 1 source for any and all Dodgers news!
Another reason the 2010 season was cursed: Martin's injury. I always saw Russell Martin as a lifelong Dodger. A team captain of sorts. Yes, his numbers have declined since his remarkable rookie season. It clearly was caused from over working him. The catcher position has always been my favorite in the game. Mike Scioscia's brick wall defense spurred my appreciation of the backstop's job. Russell Martin is a good catcher. He was an All-Star, Gold Glove & Silver Slugger award winner. There's just no way a catcher can catch every single game without tiring. Contrary to Joe Morgan's rantings, the position is extremely tiresome even more so than the pitcher. Not only does he have to catch & call every pitch, but he must throw the ball back to the pitcher everytime, block & protect the plate, be knowledgable about every hitter in the game, throw out base stealers and still perform at the plate! The thing we will miss with Martin is his relationship with & handling of our pitching staff. He knows the pitchers. Big Rod & Ellis not so much. Martin can throw out some runners. Ellis & Big Rod not so much. When he's rested he can also hit.
ReplyDeleteRumors swirled that Colletti offered Martin $4 million & $1.5 million in incentives, but Martin wanted $5 million & $1 million in incentives. If true, Colletti's deal sounds pretty darn good and I'm not sure why Martin would turn that down unless he wants to play elsewhere. The Yankees have some interest in him, and since he's from Montreal he may want to play on the East Coast. Another rumor is that Martin may be signed as a utility player. Martin in LF? Or 3B? I think not. Either way we need a catcher. If we say goodbye to Martin, he will be missed.