[PilotMan]

Jim Rice, who started the year with 1997 career hits, found his last hit, a pinch hit, on the last day of the year to finally get to the magical 2000 number.


Journeyman pitcher, and former Dodger, Floyd Bannister got his first 20 win season with the Phillies. Good return on a 1 year deal.


End of Season Recap


What a long year. This team sucks and worse, they don't suck as bad as they could. I've looked at a couple reasons why, but it's clear that a number of guys, had monumentally bad years, as in had the worst years of their careers, or at the very least the worst in recent memories.


LA was the worst in the majors in cost per win, runs scored and WAR. Here's how our top players showed up this year:


Guerrero – After 5 years in Philly, Pete comes home and puts up a .283/17/72, 1.2 WAR season. He lead the team in HR's and RBI's and stayed healthy enough to play 146 games. Yet he only scored 53 runs. That was the lowest WAR in any season where he played more than 100 games.


Viola – 14-18, 3.77, 5.6 WAR, 101 ERA+. Viola was actually one of the better players on the team. He was saddled with a career low 2.78 Runs of support per game, yet still had a .667% for quality starts. His numbers were pretty much in line with his career numbers and why they brought him in.


Rickey – Played in a 156 games, scored 75 runs, stole only 31 bases. His slash line of .232/.343/.314. His was of 1.7 His numbers were his very worst since his rookie year in '79. It was the first time since '81 that he didn't hit double digits in HR's. Even worse, his defense dropped off from his career averages.


Bryn – 11-17, 3.45, 3.7 WAR, 110 ERA+. Smith, like Viola, put up numbers pretty much on par with his career numbers. He was only supported with 2.57 Runs per game, and had a .571% of quality starts.


Hayes – Lost about 40 games due to injury this year, which has been an issue for him throughout his career. He was 2^nd on the team in HR's with 13, but that was nearly half of what he had last year. Where he had a 6.9 WAR last year, this year it was 2.9, with a slash line of .267/.348/.396. His OPS+ is right in line with his career numbers though. He's should never be the front line of the offense.


Murphy – In 6 years with LA, he hasn't been a starter for the last 5. Painful contract. This year he got into 38 games, and started 7. His .231 average with 2 HR's and 5 RBI's was good for just about nothing.


Denny – A mil a year is a lot for an aging, mop up reliever. He might have been just as good as some of our starters though. He worked 57 innings in 36 games, some good, some horribly bad. His WAR of -0.0 was his worst since his first year with LA back in '84. Don't hope to see him back.


Beattie – In his 4^th year with the Dodgers of a 5 year deal, Beattie pitched like the 5^th starter he is. His 0.5 WAR, and 99 ERA+ are below his career average, however, his numbers were better than pretty much any other year in LA. His 3.83 ERA was good, his .379% quality start not so good. Even worse, his 2.07 runs of support per game were the worst of any Dodger starter. I really hope that LA doesn't pick up his option.


Scioscia – The career Dodger put together a solid, if unspectacular year. Sharing time at catcher with Surhoff, Scioscia started 106 games, batted .264, tied for 3^rd in team HR with 9, and had a 2.1 WAR. Most of his WAR was defense. His catcher ERA was 3.53, and he caught 33% of stolen base attempts. His OPS was about 50 points below his career average. He has another year left in his contract, but it's a player option, and right now, he's pissed. It will be hard to see him go.


Samuel – In the first year of his 3 year deal, he never realized the level of his earlier years. He lost almost half the year to injury, batted .213, hit 8 HR's, stole only 12 bases. His 0.7 WAR was the worst in any year, since he broke in with the Phillies in '82 and played 21 games. There's not a lot of good here. It was an awful year.


So those are the guys who cost the most, some better than others.


Of the other starters, Caminiti and Schofield were both offensive pariahs. Neither put together much of anything. Caminiti had a 0.9 WAR and Schofield a 2.9. Schofield was one of the best at SS once again. His 10.4 zone rating and 13 errors contributed strongly to that 2.9.


A couple of good stories did come out of this year. Chuck Jackson made it to the majors and had he started, could have been one of the best season's of any Dodger. He batted .297/.369/.463, with a 2.4 WAR and 136 OPS+.


John Franco was the best. Simply the best on the team. His 32 saves, 1.58 ERA, and 0.99 WHIP meant he was one of the best in the league closing a game out. His 5 years as LA's back end pitcher has moved him to #2 in career saves for the franchise. He will be arbitration eligible in the offseason so the team will get at least 1 more year, unless they trade him for some peanuts. Don't hold your breath.