Friday, August 1, 2008

Great Moments In Passing The Buck

From Plaschke's column on the Ramirez deal, a fun quote from Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt:
The clubhouse may be a more difficult sell, particularly because Ramirez not only creates distractions, but a total of five potential starting outfielders.

"This is why we have a guy like Joe Torre as manager," said McCourt.
"Exactly," Joe Torre did not add. "When your GM poops the bed for two straight years with terrible outfield free agent signings necessitating deals like this one, I am just the guy to clean up the mess!"

9 comments:

Sam said...

Another fun comment was when he said neither of the guys who the Dodgers gave up are considered top prospects.

Eric Toms said...

BA points out that the Dodgers will get two compensatory 1st rounders for Ramirez. So, the Red Sox are on the hook for the remainder of Manny's salary and the Dodgers get 2 1st rounders to replace LaRoche ( is he another Marte? ) and the other guy who I haven't done my homework on. Doesn't seem that bad to me. I digress but BA also points out that LA should also get 2 compensatory picks should Blake leave. Not bad.

Anonymous said...

Note to Plaschke: Writing in disjointed one-sentence paragraphs doesn't make you sound pithy or intelligent; it makes you sound like a douche.

Dre said...

LaRoche was LA's #1 prospect heading into 2007. The Dodgers just dicked him around for a season and a half. Sad that a team in dire need of a 3B trades for Casey Blake when they have been sitting on a better player for so long.

As an AZ fan, it makes the race more interesting but I'm not at all worried.

Dre said...

@Pete

Blake will almost surely be a Type B free agent resulting in 1 compensation pick.

Eric Toms said...

@ Dre

I'm not an expert on this by any means, but following is a quote from BA July 26.

"Blake's impending free agency also could yield two premium draft picks for Los Angeles, seeing as the veteran third baseman ranked atop the Type B rankings among his American League peers (non-first base infielders) following the 2007 season and could move into Type A territory this time."

And this from BA yesterday after the Ramirez deal.

"With this trade and the July 26 deal for Casey Blake, however, the Dodgers have positioned themselves up for a draft bonanza, as both veterans likely will yield Type A free agent compensation if they sign with other teams."

So, I guess it has yet to be determined if Blake will be Type A or B and I admit I don't know the formula.

Unknown said...

A Dodger draft bonanza doesn't mean boo if they just bury the prospects again.

AztecAlum said...

Keep in mind that the comp picks only come if they offer arbitration (if eligible) and if they do not sign any other comparable free agents. I doubt the Dodgers will not sign any free agents and therefore will not get 4 comp picks next year.

As far as LaRoche, it’s interesting to compare him to the Padres Koozmanoff (who was not as highly touted as LaRoche). The Padres basically said last season that Kooz was the guy, even thought he stunk it up for the first 6 weeks. He rebounded nicely and while not a star, has been solid for since that poor start. Had the Dodgers done the same with LaRoche, I bet he would still be their 3B and saved themselves many headaches along the way.

AztecAlum said...

Keep in mind that the comp picks only come if they offer arbitration (if eligible) and if they do not sign any other comparable free agents. I doubt the Dodgers will not sign any free agents and therefore will not get 4 comp picks next year.

As far as LaRoche, it’s interesting to compare him to the Padres Koozmanoff (who was not as highly touted as LaRoche). The Padres basically said last season that Kooz was the guy, even thought he stunk it up for the first 6 weeks. He rebounded nicely and while not a star, has been solid for since that poor start. Had the Dodgers done the same with LaRoche, I bet he would still be their 3B and saved themselves many headaches along the way.