SB Nation - George Sherrill

Top Moments '09: No. 8 - Papelbon's Payback

ltrain2 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:16 -0000

by Michael Dwyer - AP

Jonathan Papelbon, who thanks to OTM's memorable moment #8, is the Boston Red Sox's all-time saves leader.

OTM COVERAGE: Randy Booth's recap of the Red Sox's memorable moment #8 of 2009

GAME RECAP: 07/01/2009 - Baltimore Orioles 5 Boston Red Sox 6 (11 innings)

Less than 24 hours after the Baltimore Orioles had completed the greatest comeback in the history of their franchise at the hands of the Red Sox, coming from 10 runs behind using just their final six outs, Boston got themselves a little redemption in a similar fashion.

Just one game prior to the events that led to OTM's #8 moment of 2009, the Orioles staged a 10-run comeback stunning the visiting Red Sox at Camden Yards, leaving closer Jonathan Papelbon still searching that elusive save that would leave him alone atop the franchise's list of career saves leaders.

Watching this game, I remember for a short-period of time almost rooting for the Orioles as they closed the once insurmountable gap, impatient and excited about the opportunity to see Papelbon become the Red Sox's all-time saves leader. After the game, I felt guilty, regretful, and somewhat responsible for what had transpired. Needless to say, the game for which this article is based on was a relief for not only Papelbon and the rest of the Red Sox, but myself as well.

The Red Sox had to enter the game with a little bit of a hangover-effect, and despite having their ace Josh Beckett slated to start, the first inning seemed to be a continuation of the last few innings from the nightmare that occurred the night before. After the Sox left Dustin Pedroia stranded in the top half, lead-off man Brian Roberts did his job by drawing a walk and advancing into scoring position via a theft of second base, ultimately scoring on a Felix Pie RBI-single. 1-0 Orioles after one (sigh, I thought we were playing Baltimore?).

Inning number two was accompanied by more anguish, in both halves of the frame. In the top, the Red Sox were again victimized by a struggling offense and added another zero to the scoreboard. Luke Scott wasted no time in adding to the lead starting off the bottom of the second, blasting the first pitch that he was offered from Josh Beckett over the center field wall to make it 2-0 in favor of Baltimore.

Boston would finally get on the board in the third, albiet adding just one run, only to continue the trend that was evident to this point. 'Anything you can do, we can do better,' seemed to be the home club's motto in the beginning of this particular contest. And that they did scoring two runs in response to Boston's one by way of a Nick Markakis 2-RBI double. 4-1 now, Orioles continuing their domination.

Baltimore would add yet another run in the following inning, making it four straight frames in which Beckett surrendered at least one run, and bringing the two teams to the 5-1 score that would remain until the 9th.

The top of the ninth began with the Orioles' decision to remove Bergesen (8 inngings, 1 run, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only two base-runners advancing past first base) in favor of reliever Jim Johnson. This is where everything started to go wrong, or right depending on where your allegiance lies in relation to these two teams.

Johnson proceded to walk Dustin Pedroia, serve up a 2-1 fastball that Kevin Youkilis sent into the seats, then take a walk to the dugout giving way to George Sherrill. Sherrill started off in a positive way, striking out David Ortizfor the first out, but that's about where his success ended in this outing. Ellsbury singled with one out, Bailey and Varitek both drew walks, and with the bases loaded pinch-hitter Rocco Baldelli plated two with a single knotting the score up at 5-5. After walking Drew, Johnson exited much to the appreciation of Orioles fan everywhere, and new pitcher Danny Baez got Pedroia to foul out ending the inning.

After a rather uneventful following inning and a half, the Red Sox offense struck again in the 11th. Ellsbury led off the inning with a double, subsequently moving to third on a Bailey sacrifice fly. In steps defensive wiz and always potent offensive threat Julio Lugo. Sure, maybe a little too much credit awarded in the previous sentence (or a lot depending on how strong your grip on reality is), but during this particular at-bat you wouldn't know it. Lugo shocked the world, mainly the fans who watched him play with the Red Sox on a regular basis, by coming through with what would eventually become the game-winning RBI single.

Lugo's hit in the top half of the inning set the stage for Papelbon's most notable save to this point in his career, number 133, surpassing former Red Sox saves leader Bob Stanley.

Papelbon and the rest of the relievers involved in this game were the biggest reason that Boston was able to come back and get the victory (sorry, Julio). After Beckett turned in a sub-par outing, the first four frames in particular, Red Sox's pitchers retired the game's final 24 hitters to give the offense a chance to complete the epic comeback.

All-in-all, this game was memorable for several reasons. One, Boston completed an impressive come from behind victory, made even more notable by the previous night's events. Also, the 24 straight retired by the Boston pitching staff to end the game was astonishing to watch. But most of all, this game's significance lies with Jonathan Papelbon and his place in the Red Sox's record books.

Poll

What will you remember most regarding OTM's memorable moment #8 from the 2009 season?

MLB Trade Rumors: Joe Blanton to the Dodgers for George Sherrill?

raygu — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:00:16 -0000

by Matt Slocum - ASSOCIATED PRESS

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Joe Blanton pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship baseball series Monday, Oct. 19, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

View full size photo »

On Sunday night, AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price tweeted the following regarding the Phillies starting pitcher Joe Blanton:

To the list of Ps avail. in trade -- Halladay, Lowe, Meche, Millwood -- add Joe Blanton. He's arb-elig & #Phillies could use $ on relief.

This tweet was confirmed by some Philly sports writers on Monday. Blanton is arbitration eligible after making $5.5 million in 2009. Blanton went 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 2009. He struck out 7.5/9 and walked 2.7/9 resulting in a respectable 2.76 K/BB ratio. His HR/9 of 1.38 and HR/FB ratio of 13.0% was his highest since 2004, and both were well above his career averages of 0.96% and 9/0% respectively.

Blanton is good for 200+ innings every year, but I don't expect him to continue striking out as many as he did in 2009, nor do I expect him to continue giving up so many long balls.

George Sherrill is arbitration eligible and could make around $4 million in 2010. The Phillies are looking for a reliever and the Dodgers are looking for a starting pitcher. So why not deal Sherrill for Blanton straight up, as the deal would help both teams address their offseason needs. Sherrill will more than likely be cheaper than some of the alternatives on the free agent market. The Phils would swap out Blanton's arb contract for Sherrill's arb contract.

The Phillies could land a cheaper starting pitcher on the free agent market to hold the sport for pitching prospect Kyle Drabek who could be ready by mid-season, or next season at the latest. Sherrill could fill in for closer Brad Lidge should Lidge continue to ptich poorly and blow saves in 2010

Meanwhile the Dodgers have a surplus in the bullpen making Sherrill expendable. Plus, the Dodgers have a prospect or their own in the name of Josh Lindblom who almost made the team out of spring training in 2009, who is ready or very close to being ready for big league action.

Poll

Does a Joe Blanton-George Sherrill swap make sense for the Phillies and Dodgers?

Yes, too much sense

295 votes

No, if the Dodgers throw in a prospect we can talk

186 votes

481 votes | Poll has closed

Tuesday Rockpile: Rafael Betancourt is officially a Rockie again

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:42:20 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

These two guys' fates seem to have shifted a bit.

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Some GM's, like David Dombrowski, choose to use the Winter Meetings to contact every team about Edwin Jackson - including the Rockies - only to pull him off the table. Instead, it seems Dan O'Dowd spent the majority of his time secluded in his room talking with his own players' agents yesterday.

Dan O'Dowd and Rafael Betancourt had danced in and out of option year, two year contract and three year contract discussions, with the Betancourt ultimately accepting arbitration (Renck) late last night. He'll likely make close to what he did had the Rockies exercised his option.

Thomas Harding reports that, as expected, Jason Marquis has declined arbitration (Harding), rewarding the Rockies with a sandwich pick for having the guts to risk dealing with his eight figure salary had he accepted. In truth, you would be hard pressed to find a more clearcut case for declining $10+mil guaranteed around the league.

Troy Renck reported that O'Dowd has been working on multi-year deals for Huston Street, Clint Barmes and Chris Iannetta, as fanshotted below by Hizilla. Street has been seeking $30mil, but the ultimate offer should be closer to $25mil.

As for locking up Iannetta (Harding), the deal is a buy-low contract that would buy out his arbitration years. It would be unlikely to pay him much more than he would receive those years. Harding notes that Iannetta actually improved his slugging percentage last season by twenty points. Who knew? A quick note from the bottom of the article. Dan O'Dowd said "[Franklin Morales] is going back into our bullpen."

As noted early in the day, the Rockies cleared space for Ryan Spilborghs (Harding). In deciding not to sell low on the gaucho, Dan O'Dowd had to tell Matt Murton he was once again squeezed from a deserved MLB roster spot. He was then sold to a team in Japan. I hope he can return to get another shot on this side of the Pacific in 2011.

For a brief wrap of NL West Rumors from the meetings, take the jump.

Arizona

MLBTR reports several teams are interested in reliever JJ Putz, including Arizona.

The Diamondbacks reportedly pushed yesterday's blockbuster trade, in which they would send Max Scherzer and one or two prospects while receiving Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. The deal would also involve Curtis Granderson. While Joel Sherman called the deal dead and Buster Olney is "unsure if the embers can be re-lit", there is one optimist. Jon Paul Morosi reports it is still a possibility.

Arizona beat writer Nick Piecoro's head must have been spinning, as he clearly disagreed with the idea of offering Scherzer for Jackson.

Los Angeles

While Los Angeles has no plans to decrease payroll (Dylan Hernandez, LA Times), they don't seem to be in much of a place of power. The Mets reportedly agreed to send Luis Castillo to Los Angeles for Juan Pierre, a move that would improve the Dodgers' starting lineup and take an expensive bench player off the books, but Ned Colletti wants pitching in return.

The Blue Jays talked to the Dodgers about Roy Halladay (Jayson Stark) but there is expectedly no match there

Colletti is also open to dealing lefty George Sherrill.

San Diego

The Padres will apparently non-tender Kevin Correia MLBTR), who was clearly their most valuable pitcher from start to finish. The former Giant had just a $750k base salary last season. It's a very sad cheap move from the Friars, but I guess they'll need to the money to pay their closer. While Heath Bell is one of their most enticing trade chips, San Diego's new GM Jed Hoyer seems inclined to keep Bell (Corey Brock, MLB.com), who would garner about a $5mil salary next season.

San Diego has also been linked to outfielder Reed Johnson (Bill Center, San Diego Union Tribune) and are now on the prowl for a backup catcher with the loss of Henry Blanco (Center).

San Francisco

St. Louis put a dent in the Giants' rotational depth, as the Cards signed Brad Penny to a one -year $7.5mil base salary contract (Buster Olney). He will likely have a physical tomorrow to complete the deal.

MLB.com's Chris Haft has some Giants nuggets - Eugenio Velez or Andres Torres will be their leadoff hitter, neither Pablo Sandoval nor Ryan Garko will catch at all next year, and the Giants might attempt to acquire Juan Rivera if the Angels sign Jason Bay.

Speaking of Garko, he is still "on the bubble" for being non-tendered a contract, according to Sabean (Andrew Baggarly).

Only one NL team remains a serious player for Dan Uggla, that team being San Francisco (Joe Frisaro, MLB.com). The Orioles are the most likely landing spot.

Mannion Expands Role With Dodgers

Eric Stephen — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:45:46 -0000

Day one of the winter meetings hasn't brought much news regarding the Dodgers, other than speculation and rumors, which can be fun. However, the Dodgers did announce today that team president Dennis Mannion will now oversee baseball operations in addition to his current duties running the daily business side of the franchise.

From the Dodgers:

To date, Mannion has had responsibility for business operations, including marketing, sponsorships, finance, ticket sales, human resources, communications and legal affairs. In his new role, Mannion will also oversee General Manager Ned Colletti, who manages the team’s baseball operations.

Mannion is one of the most tenured executives in professional sports. He first joined the Dodgers in 2007 following 27 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Baltimore Ravens.

"Dennis is a seasoned sports executive who has done a great job since arriving at the Dodgers," said Dodger Owner Frank McCourt. "He has already begun integrating baseball operations with the rest of the organization, and today’s announcement formalizes that transition."

I did have the good fortune to meet Mannion during my tour of Camelback Ranch this spring, and even though it was a passing meeting outside the club's offices, Mannion did go out of his way to elicit the opinion of us Dodger bloggers and seemed genuinely interested in our thoughts. I have no idea how that will affect his ability to run a franchise, but he did seem to have a presence, if that counts for anything.

Colletti praised the move, saying, "I have long believed that both sides of the operation will function better as one - both understanding the challenges each has and working together to celebrate the triumphs as one group. This move acknowledges that and I embrace it wholeheartedly." But then again, what else would Colletti say in a team press release?

Who knows what effect this move will have on the Dodgers? It will probably be minimal on the baseball side, but time will tell.

**********

OK, so there is a little bit of news. The Dodgers announced a few things via Twitter:

The Dodgers are "not shopping" George Sherrill
Scott Elbert and Josh Lindblom are being groomed for starting pitching roles, whereas James McDonald is "more flexible."
Brad Ausmus is leaning toward returning for 2010, and Colletti has been in contact with him all winter

Winter Meetings Day 1: Dodgers Shopping Pierre?

Eric Stephen — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:26:29 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

We already know Orlando Hudson won't be back in 2010. Might Juan Pierre also be on his way out?

Browse more photos »

Today is the first day of the winter meetings in Indianapolis. Everyone who is anyone in baseball has descended upon Indianapolis for four days. This is the peak of the hot stove season, and there will be rumors galore for most of this week. There will be a lot of news that isn't really news, so remember to take everything with a grain of salt. That said, this is a pretty exciting and fun few days.

Today's highlights:

The Dodgers are shopping Juan Pierre, says Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Steve Henson of Yahoo says three or four teams are interested. Expect a pitcher with an inflated contract in return.
George Sherrill is rumored to be on the block, says Ken Rosenthal and John Paul Morosi of Fox Sports. If the Dodgers are operating on the margins of their budget, this makes sense, as Sherrill will likely make as much as $4 million in arbitration, quite a high salary for a non-closer
The veterans committee today elected manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey to the Hall of Fame today. Former players' union chief Marvin Miller was left out.
Today is the deadline for players to accept arbitration offers from last week. All zero of the Dodgers offered arbitration are expected to do nothing. Actually, an intriguing story is that reliever Rafael Soriano may accept arbitration from the Braves. If he does, Soriano would combine with Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito in the best back end of the bullpen in the majors (if not a fragile trio).

For a good overview of the winter meetings, read this Fan Post by BHSportsGuy, who saw first hand last year's meetings in Las Vegas.

Mark Timmons of LA Dodger Talk is in Indianapolis and at the winter meetings. Be sure to check his site for updates.

This is the first winter meetings of the Twitter era, so the information will be fast and furious. If you want to follow True Blue LA on Twitter, go to twitter.com/truebluela.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:30:33 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

Jeff Suppan reacts after walking in three runs during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cubs. Searching for someone who will take his contract could be one of the Brewers' focal points this week.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while the blue socks tie your look together.

All eyes turn to Indianapolis this week, as the Winter Meetings start today. While there, Brewer management would most likely jump at any chance to unload the contract of Jeff Suppan. Tom H. floated the idea of a Suppan-for-Juan Pierre deal, while Jorge Says No! wonders if Jeff Suppan and prospects for Gil Meche makes sense (Also noted in Rumorville). For whatever it's worth, the Meche deal is probably unlikely unless one of the Brewers' top prospects is involved. Apparently the Mets have also contacted the Royals to ask about him.

Other pre-meeting buzz:

Tom H. has a winter meeting preview with some stuff you've heard before and a Doug Melvin complaint about cost uncertainty.
Steve Henson of Yahoo says the Brewers are more likely to look for free agents than trades to fill the gaps in their rotation and bench.
Adam McCalvy has a look at some of the prospects that could be mentioned if the Brewers decide to make a deal, but acknowledges the fact that the Brewers don't have the organizational depth to make a major splash via that route.
Apparently Edwin Jackson, one trade candidate the Brewers have expressed interest in, could find a new home soon.
Meanwhile, Yahoo is reporting that multiple teams are interested in Doug Davis, but the only candidate they're naming at this point is the Crew.

If you weren't around over the weekend, Noah did a great job in the weekend Mug of covering reaction to the Gregg Zaun deal. Here are a few more nuggets on Zaun I spotted this morning:

Adam McCalvy tweeted that Zaun's deal includes $600,000 in incentives tied to games started, which could push the total guaranteed value up to $2.75 million if Ken Macha is unwilling to let one of the young guys play.
Fire Doug Melvin is not excited about the decision to guarantee Zaun the starting job.

The Zaun move inspired Casa de Machado to throw in the towel for 2010, complete with this quote:

I think are chances in 2010 are slim to none.

It's like this picture and The Iron Sheik's Twitter all rolled in to one. (h/t to the Former Hacks for the Sheik link)

I know at least some of you attended the Brewer Clubhouse Sale over the weekend. Did you find anything good? Did you show up in this WISN story?

Just one transaction note today:

Indians: Signed former Twin Brian Buscher to a minor league deal.

Some free agent deals might get done at the Winter Meetings this week, but don't expect John Lackey to be one of them: Lackey is believed to be seeking $17 million+ per year for at least six years, and it'll take some time for his price to fall back into a range that isn't laughable.

Six years and $102 million would probably earn Lackey honorable mention on Big League Stew's list of the worst ten contracts of the 2000s. Click that link if you'd like to feel better about the Brewer tenure of Doug Melvin: All ten contracts mentioned are clearly worse than Jeff Suppan's deal.

Looking for a buy-low rotation candidate? Diamond Notes mentions the Dodgers are expected to have interest in Chien-Ming Wang, when/if the Yankees announce their decision to non-tender him for next season. Assuming the price is right, one would think the Brewers might be interested too.

Speaking of the Dodgers, they're continuing to cut costs by attempting to deal George Sherrill.

On this day in 2005, the Brewers traded Lyle Overbay (along with Ty Taubenheim) to the Blue Jays for David Bush, Gabe Gross and Zach Jackson, clearing the way for Prince Fielder to take over at first base in 2006. Overbay has hit .275/.356/.449 over four seasons as a Blue Jay.

On this day in 2007, the Brewers acquired Salomon Torres from the Pirates for two minor leaguers. Torres posted a 3.49 ERA and saved 28 games for the 2008 Brewers.

Happy birthday today to Jim Austin, who posted a 3.06 ERA while making 83 relief appearances as a Brewer between 1991 and 1993, and turns 46.

Oh, and it looks like winter is now upon us, so it may be time to bust out the solar powered hat and gloves. Or just stay home and watch the Pride and Prejudice with Zombies miniseries. (h/t C. Trent Rosecrans)

Drink up.

2010 CHONE Projections: Pitching

Eric Stephen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:14:56 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

You know you're good when you are projected to strikeout 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 2010, and that's a drop of nearly two strikeouts from 2009.

Browse more photos »

Last month, Sean Smith of Anaheim Angels All The Way released his 2010 CHONE projections for offense. Now, we have the pitching projections as well. More info can be found at BaseballProjection.com. I have added the projections for many Dodgers, including some outgoing free agents, to go with the projections from the 2010 Bill James Handbook. As more projection systems release their projections, I will add them so we can get a more complete overall preview of the 2010 Dodgers.

I calculated FIP for the projections based on the formula at The Hardball Times. In these projections, keep in mind that playing time and pitching role is merely estimated.

Starters
Clayton Kershaw
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	115	4.15	4.30	4.46	7.98
2009 actual	171.0	2.79	3.06	4.79	9.74
2010 Bill James	180	3.25	3.47	4.55	9.40
2010 CHONE	151	3.58	3.68	4.65	9.42
2010 status	under club control

Chad Billingsley
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	193	3.68	3.72	3.92	8.81
2009 CHONE	161	3.69	3.70	3.75	8.72
2009 actual	196.1	4.03	3.77	3.94	8.21
2010 Bill James	185	3.65	3.77	3.94	8.61
2010 CHONE	182	3.71	3.73	3.76	8.60
2010 status	arbitration eliglble

Hiroki Kuroda
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	192	3.89	4.38	2.53	5.86
2009 CHONE	158	4.04	4.24	2.28	6.04
2009 actual	117.1	3.76	3.61	1.84	6.67
2010 Bill James	128	3.80	4.29	2.46	5.98
2010 CHONE	154	4.32	3.99	2.45	6.31
2010 status	under contract

Randy Wolf
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	195	4.25	4.30	3.32	7.62
2009 CHONE	124	4.43	4.44	3.63	7.48
2009 actual	214.1	3.23	3.99	2.44	6.72
2010 Bill James	200	3.87	4.26	3.02	7.16
2010 CHONE	163	4.42	4.38	3.09	6.52
2010 status	free agent

Vicente Padilla
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	151	4.71	4.71	3.28	6.26
2009 CHONE	152	4.91	4.77	3.55	6.34
2009 actual	147.1	4.46	4.51	3.30	5.93
2010 Bill James	141	4.66	4.73	3.26	6.19
2010 CHONE	155	4.70	4.74	3.60	6.27
2010 status	free agent
Padilla's stats with Texas included

Jon Garland
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	186	4.69	5.02	2.90	4.40
2009 CHONE	187	5.01	4.50	2.60	4.91
2009 actual	204	4.01	4.43	2.69	4.81
2010 Bill James	216	4.33	4.62	2.67	4.54
2010 CHONE	186	4.55	4.53	2.71	4.60
2010 status	free agent
Garland's stats with Arizona included

Bullpen
Jonathan Broxton
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	70	3.09	2.63	3.47	11.19
2009 CHONE	72	2.88	2.80	3.25	10.88
2009 actual	76.0	2.61	1.98	3.43	13.50
2010 Bill James	80	2.36	2.44	3.49	11.70
2010 CHONE	67	2.69	2.51	3.36	11.82
2010 status	arbitration eliglble

George Sherrill
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	53	3.40	3.43	4.58	10.19
2009 CHONE	43	3.77	4.01	4.60	8.79
2009 actual	69.0	1.70	3.09	3.13	7.96
2010 Bill James	74	2.92	3.37	4.01	9.36
2010 CHONE	52	3.63	3.77	3.98	9.35
2010 status	arbitration eliglble
Sherrill's stats with Baltimore included

Hong-Chih Kuo
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	69	3.39	2.90	3.52	10.96
2009 CHONE	45	3.00	2.71	3.00	11.00
2009 actual	30.0	3.00	3.18	3.90	9.60
2010 Bill James	48	3.00	3.00	3.75	10.50
2010 CHONE	39	3.23	3.23	3.23	9.69
2010 status	arbitration eliglble

Ronald Belisario
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	37	6.08	6.58	5.11	5.59
2009 actual	70.2	2.04	3.26	3.69	8.15
2010 Bill James	69	4.04	4.25	4.17	7.17
2010 CHONE	60	4.50	4.55	4.05	7.50
2010 status	under club control

Ramon Troncoso
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	60	4.20	4.08	3.60	6.75
2009 actual	82.2	2.72	3.31	3.70	5.99
2010 Bill James	72	3.88	3.59	3.75	6.63
2010 CHONE	71	4.06	3.95	3.55	6.59
2010 status	under club control

James McDonald
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	127	4.54	5.12	4.11	7.72
2009 actual	63.0	4.00	4.29	4.86	7.71
2010 Bill James	74	3.77	4.27	4.01	9.12
2010 CHONE	62	3.77	4.05	4.06	9.29
2010 status	under club control

Scott Elbert
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	43	3.98	4.36	5.65	10.47
2009 actual	19.2	5.03	4.73	3.20	9.61
2010 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2010 CHONE	47	3.64	3.81	4.60	10.72
2010 status	under club control

Cory Wade
Year	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9
2009 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2009 CHONE	53	3.74	4.02	2.55	7.30
2009 actual	27.2	5.53	4.13	3.25	5.86
2010 Bill James	---	---	---	---	---
2010 CHONE	62	4.21	4.41	3.05	7.11
2010 status	under club control

In addition, here are some other notable 2010 CHONE projections for other Dodgers.

Other Projections
Pitcher	IP	ERA	FIP	BB/9	K/9	2010 Contract Status
Eric Stults	138	4.89	4.61	3.72	6.59	under club control (out of options)
Charlie Haeger	170	4.98	5.14	4.34	6.51	under club control (out of options)
Jeff Weaver	49	4.41	4.48	3.12	6.43	free agent

How Dodgers Became Dodgers: Where Pedro Astacio Becomes Blake DeWitt

Eric Stephen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Ed Andrieski - AP

Blake and DeWitt are two of seven players currently on the 40-man roster who have links to Dodgers past.

Browse more photos »

Major league 40-man rosters were set last Friday in preparation for the upcoming Rule 5 draft in two weeks. With the free agency period just starting, there are many open spots on rosters throughout baseball. The Dodgers, for instance, have 33 players on their 40-man roster. Over the next few weeks, free agents will be signed and some players will be non-tendered, so rosters will change, but for now let's look at the 33 Dodgers and how they became Dodgers.

Almost half of the Dodgers currently on the 40-man roster -- 16 of 33 -- were drafted by the team with their own draft pick:

Draft(ed) Dodgers
Player	Year	Round	Pick

James Loney	2002	1	19
Jonathan Broxton	2002	2	60
James McDonald	2002	11	331
Eric Stults	2002	15	451
Russell Martin	2002	17	511

Chad Billingsley	2003	1	24
Xavier Paul	2003	4	121
Matt Kemp	2003	6	181
Lucas May	2003	8	241
A.J. Ellis	2003	18	541

Scott Elbert	2004	1	17
Javy Guerra	2004	4	118
Cory Wade	2004	10	298

Brent Leach	2005	6	196
Trayvon Robinson	2005	10	316

Clayton Kershaw	2006	1	7

These are pretty straight forward original transactions, as are these other four amateur free agents:

Amateur Free Agents
Player	Date	Origin
Hong-Chih Kuo	6/19/99	Taiwan
Ramon Troncoso	6/20/02	Dominican Republic
Chin-Lung Hu	1/31/03	Taiwan
Kenley Jansen	11/17/04	Curacao

That makes 20 of 33 Dodgers who are with are with their original club. In addition to them, there are six more Dodgers that joined the club independent of other players. That is, their acquisitions aren't linked to anyone else:

Free Agents
Player	Date
Rafael Furcal	12/19/05
Juan Pierre	11/22/06
Travis Schlichting*	10/7/07
Hiroki Kuroda	12/16/07
Ronald Belisario*	1/13/09
Charlie Haeger*	1/17/09
*minor league free agents

This is where we get to the fun part of this exercise, as reminded by Rocknjosie in her excellent Fan Post last month. There are seven Dodgers left that were acquired as the result, directly or indirectly, of previous transactions. These are listed in chronological order based on the earliest transaction.

Andre Ethier
Date	Transaction
6/1/88	drafted Mike Piazza in the 62nd round (#1390 overall)
8/4/96	signed Luke Allen as an undrafted free agent
12/8/96	signed Todd Zeile as a free agent
5/14/98	traded Piazza and Zeile to Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Manuel Barrios
11/18/00	signed Franklin Gutierrez as an amateur free agent
1/15/02	traded Sheffield to Braves for Odalis Perez, Brian Jordan, and Andrew Brown
1/17/03	traded Allen to Colorado for Jason Romano
4/3/04	traded Romano to Tampa Bay for Antonio Perez
4/3/04	traded Gutierrez and Brown to Cleveland for Milton Bradley
12/13/05	traded Bradley and Perez to Oakland for Ethier
Total Related Players: 9

Blake DeWitt
Date	Transaction
11/21/87	signed Pedro Astacio as an amateur free agent
6/14/91	signed Ismael Valdez as an amateur free agent
8/28/94	signed Luke Prokopec as an amateur free agent
8/19/97	traded Astacio to Rockies for Eric Young
12/12/99	traded Young and Valdez to Cubs for Terry Adams, Brian Stephenson, and Chad Ricketts
12/31/01	traded Prokopec and Ricketts to Toronto for Cesar Izturis and Paul Quantrill
12/17/03	Quantrill signed as a free agent with the Yankees
6/7/04	drafted DeWitt with a compensation first round pick (#28 overall)
Total Related Players: 6

Ivan DeJesus
Date	Transaction
7/7/94	signed Adrian Beltre as an amateur free agent
12/17/04	Beltre signed as a free agent with Seattle
6/7/05	drafted DeJesus with a compensation second round pick (#51 overall)
Total Related Players: 1

Jason Repko
Date	Transaction
1/16/96	signed Scott Radinsky as a free agent
11/23/98	Radinsky signed as a free agent with St. Louis
6/2/99	drafted Repko with a compensation supplemental pick (#37 overall)
Total Related Players: 1

Manny Ramirez
Date	Transaction
12/12/98	signed Kevin Brown as a free agent
6/3/03	drafted Andy LaRoche in the 39th round (#1171 overall)
12/13/03	traded Brown to Yankees for Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban, Brandon Weeden, and cash
2/23/06	Weaver signed as a free agent with the Angels
6/6/06	drafted Bryan Morris with a compensation first round pick (#26 overall)
7/31/08	traded LaRoche and Morris to Pittsburgh in a 3-team trade; received Manny and cash from Boston
Total Related Players: 4

Casey Blake
Date	Transaction
8/13/04	signed Carlos Santana as an amateur free agent
6/7/05	drafted Jon Meloan in fifth round (#166 overall)
7/26/08	traded Santana and Meloan to Cleveland for Blake, and cash
Total Related Players: 2

George Sherrill
Date	Transaction
6/7/05	drafted Josh Bell in the second round (#74 overall)
6/7/05	drafted Steven Johnson in the 13th round (#406 overall)
7/30/09	traded Bell and Johnson to Baltimore for Sherrill
Total Related Players: 2

MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Halladay to the Dodgers for Chad Billingsley??

raygu — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:15:20 -0000

More photos » by Fred Thornhill - AP

2 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay throws against the Seattle Mariners during first-inning AL baseball game action in Toronto, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Fred Thornhill)

Browse more photos »

The Dodgers were rumored to be in on the Roy Halladay trade talks last July, but ended up bolstering their bullpen instead by trading for George Sherrill. Now comes this tweet from Bob Nightengale from the USA Today:

#mlb The Dodgers badly need an ace and are focusing on Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay. The Dodgers would have to give up Billingsley and others.

The Dodgers do need an ace pitcher for sure. They need one to get past the NLCS in 2010, should they get there again. But, should the Dodgers give up a cheap starting pitcher with ace potential, along with prospects, for one year, presumably, of Roy Halladay?

I am not convinced Billz needs to be included in the deal. The Phillies gave up 4 minor league prospects for a year and a half of Cliff Lee. Why would the Dodgers give up Billz AND prospects?

Poll

Will the Dodgers need to give up Chad Billingsley in a deal for Roy Halladay?

No, a package or prospects should be enough.

255 votes

Yes, the Dodgers prospects aren't as good as prospects from other teams competing for Halladay's services.

336 votes

591 votes | Poll has closed

Free Agent Profile: LaTroy Hawkins

davoag — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:49:55 -0000

by David J. Phillip - AP

Will the Hawk be back in Houston?

View full size photo »

We already covered the basics of the reliever market with Jose Valverde's profile, so I thought the most illuminating thing to do with Hawkins is to see which teams might actually need a closer this winter. That, of course, is going to be the difference in him signing for 5-7 million and 2-3 million.

Hawkins has saved almost exactly the same number of games in the American League (44) as in the National League (43). Heading into his Age 37 season, he's probably not looking at more than a two-year deal and probably only a one-year contract.

Will it be a big deal if the Astros don't sign Valverde or Hawkins this winter? It will, but only because that's likely the only move they will make this winter. With the news that the Braves are shopping both Derek Lowe and Javier Vasquez, why wouldn't the Astros move on one of those guys instead? I'd rather have 200 innings in the starting rotation than 50 in the back of the bullpen. Remember the Cardinals went into last season with no closer at all and found one in Ryan Franklin (after a bumpy start to the season). Why couldn't the Astros do something similar? Throw Fulchino, Gervacio, Chad Paronto and any other cheap, hard thrower you want at the wall and see who sticks.

A quick note: I wrote up a quick scouting report of Jason Castro's AFL Rising Stars performance, for those who didn't get to see him on my minor league blog, Minor Musings. I'll avoid reposting by just directing you that way, if you are so inclined. At any rate, here are the teams who could be in the market for a closer...

Atlanta Braves

2009 saves: Rafael Soriano (27), Mike Gonzalez (10)

Notes: With both Soriano and Gonzalez becoming free agents, the Braves may be in the market for a closer. Of course, they also have a ridiculous amount of pitching depth, so they may end up picking up a closer in a trade for Vasquez or Lowe. Don't rule out converting a guy like Jo-Jo Reyes into the role of closer as well.

Baltimore Orioles

2009 saves: George Sherrill (20), Jim Johnson (10)

Notes: Johnson took over the closer's role once Sherrill was traded to the Dodgers, but it's anyone's guess whether the Orioles will keep him there. McPhail has not been shy about pursuing the top names on the market and could make a play for Valverde. It's more likely that the Orioles fill this gap from in-house guys, though.

Detroit Tigers

2009 saves: Fernando Rodney (37), Brandon Lyon (3)

Notes: Like the Braves, both Rodney and Lyon are free agents. Also like the Braves, the Tigers have a couple of candidates to fill the void. Remember Joel Zumaya? After three straight years of throwing less than 34 innings, he's probably not a great candidate to land the closer role, but he is still just 24 years old and has potential. I could see the Tigers investing in a mid-tier guy with a one-year deal. Maybe someone like Billy Wagner?

Tampa Bay Rays

2009 saves: J.P. Howell (17), Randy Choate (5), Grant Balfour (4), Troy Percival (6), Joe Nelson (3)

Notes: As you can see, the Rays definitely went with a closer-by-committee approach last season. I'm not sure what payroll flexibility they will have this offseason, but if they do have money to spend, it definitely makes sense for them to find a back-end bullpen guy. Competing in the AL East, they need a solid closer and don't have one right now.

Toronto Blue Jays

2009 saves: Jason Frasor (11), Scott Downs (9), B.J. Ryan (2)

Notes: With the transition at the top of the organization, I doubt the Blue Jays make a splash in free agency again for a closer. This isn't a bad situation due to free agents leaving as much as guys just not performing. Look for one of the Jays young pitchers to be slotted into this role next year. Either that or a trade for a guy like Matt Lindstrom from the Marlins.

Other teams possibly shopping: Arizona (depending how they view Qualls), Cincinnati (Only if they move Cordero), Colorado (Huston Street is arb-eligible), Washington (McDougald had hip surgery).

All in all, there are just not that many spots open for closers. It's a bad offseason for guys like Valverde and Hawkins. I'd expect at least one of them to stick with the Astros, but I'm not sure which one the team values more at this point.

SB Nation - George Sherrill

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What will you remember most regarding OTM's memorable moment #8 from the 2009 season?

MLB Trade Rumors: Joe Blanton to the Dodgers for George Sherrill?

Does a Joe Blanton-George Sherrill swap make sense for the Phillies and Dodgers?

Yes, too much sense

No, if the Dodgers throw in a prospect we can talk

Tuesday Rockpile: Rafael Betancourt is officially a Rockie again

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Los Angeles

San Francisco

Mannion Expands Role With Dodgers

Winter Meetings Day 1: Dodgers Shopping Pierre?

Monday's Frosty Mug

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Starters

Bullpen

How Dodgers Became Dodgers: Where Pedro Astacio Becomes Blake DeWitt

MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Halladay to the Dodgers for Chad Billingsley??

Will the Dodgers need to give up Chad Billingsley in a deal for Roy Halladay?

No, a package or prospects should be enough.

Yes, the Dodgers prospects aren't as good as prospects from other teams competing for Halladay's services.

Free Agent Profile: LaTroy Hawkins