Andruw Jones (Dodgers) - Two years, $36 M

[Extra Stout]

So who where these great prospects in the Tampa Bay and Royals trade that they dumped?? Any names??

I'll be the first to call out the Dodgers when they make stupid moves. Has nothing to do with being defensive, but since you are pretty much talking out of your ass you have to try to change the argument.

So again who are these great prospects that the Dodgers traded for "pennies on the dollar"??

OK, I give up. I should know better than ever to regurgitate the opinion of a talk show host, since on any sports subject I've actually followed, I end up laughing at how stupid and uninformed their opinion is, and wonder how it is that only idiots get hired into those jobs.

I defer.

[K-State Spur]

Yep. Because Bedard is under contract for 2 years vs. 1 for Santana.

13-5 with a 3.16 ERA pitching at Camden Yards in the AL East. Now, translate that to moving to the NL (worth about a half a run ERA by itself), pitching night games at Dodger Stadium and rivalry games at Petco and whatever they are calling PacBell (2 of the best pitching parks in baseball) these days. Look at what it did for Derek Lowe - and he was nowhere near the caliber of Bedard when he left the Sox.

Before Bedard was shutdown for the last month of the season (which was more precautionary than anything), he was probably the best pitcher in the AL.

He was 4th in ERA (better than Santana, Beckett, or Sabathia) - 3rd in park adjusted ERA, 1st in K-Rate, 2nd in WHIP (the most valuable stat for a pitcher), 1st in Hits allowed per 9 innings, and running away with 1st in win-shares (he finished 2nd) before being shut-down.

[Purple & Gold]

OK, I give up. I should know better than ever to regurgitate the opinion of a talk show host, since on any sports subject I've actually followed, I end up laughing at how stupid and uninformed their opinion is, and wonder how it is that only idiots get hired into those jobs.

I defer.

Well at least you came clean.

But seriously one thing the Dodgers haven't done is trade away their high end young prospects. The main reason the Dodgers don't have a Cabrera, Santana, or other big name in a trade. Going the FA route allows them to keep these players. As for Andruw it's overpaying, but only for 2 years. If he can come anywhere close to where he was a few years ago, then it will be a very good signing for them. We were in desperate need for a big bat and a legitimate HR threat. It was a move worth making.

[Purple & Gold]

Yep. Because Bedard is under contract for 2 years vs. 1 for Santana.

13-5 with a 3.16 ERA pitching at Camden Yards in the AL East. Now, translate that to moving to the NL (worth about a half a run ERA by itself), pitching night games at Dodger Stadium and rivalry games at Petco and whatever they are calling PacBell (2 of the best pitching parks in baseball) these days. Look at what it did for Derek Lowe - and he was nowhere near the caliber of Bedard when he left the Sox.

Before Bedard was shutdown for the last month of the season (which was more precautionary than anything), he was probably the best pitcher in the AL.

He was 4th in ERA (better than Santana, Beckett, or Sabathia) - 3rd in park adjusted ERA, 1st in K-Rate, 2nd in WHIP (the most valuable stat for a pitcher), 1st in Hits allowed per 9 innings, and running away with 1st in win-shares (he finished 2nd) before being shut-down.

Nobody is saying Bedard is not a good pitcher. The Dodgers would love to have him, but not for 2 or 3 top level prospects. Kemp and Kershaw are TOP level prospects, and they wanted LaRoche on top of it (another top level prospect). His injuries are also a concern. As for Derek Lowe, he's not doing that great of a job in L.A. and hasn't resurrected his career in the least.


20-6 2.61 ERA, 16-7 2.87 ERA, 19-6 2.77 ERA, 15-13 3.33 ERA

Those are Santana's numbers the last 4 years. Even in his down year (last year) he still had a pretty good ERA. He wasn't dominant like before, but nowhere near falling off. I still don't see how you can say Bedard is worth more because he's under contract for an extra year. When you take his injuries into account as well as he's only really done it for 2 years, then no way he's worth more than Johan. If the Orioles are looking to get a Santana type deal then there gonna have to wait till the deadline and hope he stays healthy and puts up some real nice numbers to start off the season. More than likely what will happen.

[K-State Spur]

He's worth more because more teams can get involved which drives up the price. Even the M's, Reds, and Blue Jays have inquired or made offers. Teams are more willing to go for a guy that they can have for a couple of years.

With Santana being basically a one year rental which will then cost that team somewhere around $22 to $25 million per year for 6+ years to re-sign, there are really only 2 teams in baseball that are willing to do that (and are able to meet the Twins' demands) right now - and one of them is backing out.

The rumored offers for Bedard are already better than the Yanks offer for Santana, and rival the rumored offer by the Bosox for Santana.

Obviously, they are called rumors for a reason. But don't be shocked in the least if Bedard nets a better package than Johan.

If the Dodgers don't want to part with Kemp, I won't blame them. But don't be shocked if they do.

[atlfan25]

I didn't see many Braves games this year, but I'm surprised he has fallen off that much defensively. And 4th worst is way too low. At worst he's average. I'll be taking a closer look at him this year. If his defense is that bad though, I wouldn't be surprised if they hide him in left. He was signed for HR's though, something the Dodgers desperately need. And when you're signing players for very short term contracts (2 years) you are gonna end up overpaying in the per year department.

Do you hide a guy in left field who led NL centerfielders in putouts in 2007? 396 putouts in 401 chances. Next was Rowand with 392 in 405 chances.

Andruw isn't as fast as he used to be but he's still damn good out in center. It's also probably a safe bet he'll be back to his usual .260-.270 with 35 homers and a 100 rbi's at the plate.

Still not worth 18 mil a year though. 15 at best. Torii Hunter isn't worth that either. of a market.

[Purple & Gold]

Do you hide a guy in left field who led NL centerfielders in putouts in 2007? 396 putouts in 401 chances. Next was Rowand with 392 in 405 chances.

Andruw isn't as fast as he used to be but he's still damn good out in center. It's also probably a safe bet he'll be back to his usual .260-.270 with 35 homers and a 100 rbi's at the plate.

Still not worth 18 mil a year though. 15 at best. Torii Hunter isn't worth that either. of a market.

Good to hear a Braves fan say Andruw still has it defensively. I still think he's a good defensive player, but since I didn't watch many Atlanta games last year I wasn't really sure how much he had lost. I was only commenting on the "4th worse" defensive centerfielder article. Good to hear that he won't be a liability in CF. As for his paycheck it's worth it only because he's only signed for 2 years. Gotta overpay for short term contracts. Plus we didn't have to lose a draft pick.