It's time for Dodger Baseball! ('82-'94 Complete)--OOTP 17-23 Alt History

[PilotMan]

Cheering for a losing team is an exercise in patience, and a complete acceptance of the Bob Uecker broadcasting in Major League. Let's look at what a complete clusterfuck of a year, 1991 has been so far:


Major League worst record of 31-70.

Last in the NL in:
Runs Scored
Avg
OBP
Runs Against
Starter ERA

Second to last in NL in:
HR's
SB
Bullpen ERA

So pretty much everything, last or second to last. Only fielding is 9th. (BRIGHT SPOT!!)

Pitching:

Frank Viola, 31: 4.69 ERA; 1.54 WHIP; 82 ERA+; 2.39 RS per game
- Graded as a 3-Star talent, Upper mid rotation quality

Danny Darwin, 35: 4.13 ERA; 1.21 WHIP; 93 ERA +; 1.76 RS/G
- Averages 4 2/3 innings per start; Graded as a 2.5-Star talent, Back end quality

Ed Wojna, 30: 2.96 ERA; 1.26 WHIP; 144 ERA+; 2.57 RS/G
- Waiver wire pickup from Philly. Made 10 starts; Graded as a 2-Star talent; Spot start quality

Peter Chapin, 32: 4.51 ERA; 1.37 WHIP; 85 ERA+; 2.35 RS/G
- Grades as a 1.5-Star talent, Spot start or possible back end quality

Arthur Rhodes, 21: 5.62 ERA; 1.81 WHIP; 68 ERA+; 1.41 RS/G
- Grades as a 1-Star talent, Spot start quality at best

Bob Patterson, 32: 3.53 ERA; 0.97 WHIP; 108 ERA+; 15/19 Saves, 17.6 IRS%
- Grades as a 3-Star talent; is the closer, but scouted to set up at best

Tomas Ubiera, 26: 3.78 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 101 ERA+; 2S, 1H, 14 GF
- Grades as a 3-Star talent; Set up is ideal.

Sergio DelRosario, 26: 5.83 ERA; 1.55 WHIP, 66 ERA+, 5H, 11 GF
- 2-Star talent; can hit 100+ on the gun, scouted as a situational/mop up guy.

You can see the incredible lack of talent, and what they've done so far this year. The offense has been awful. The pitching has been below average with slightly above average at it's finest. {edit: I totally forgot to mention that Patterson, the closer, is #2 on the team in wins, with 5.}

The lineup right now....ugh.

Just at first base alone, the team has used Von Hayes, Pete O'Brien, Franklin Stubbs, Lee Stevens, Jim Presley and finally Carmelo Martinez. Stubbs was released and then resigned a few days later. It's been a total shitshow. Catcher has had the same problems.

The team has a .290 OBP, and 57 team homers. Only Inky is even in double digits in dingers. Albert Belle leads all of baseball with 36. They haven't been no-hit yet either, but they have been 1 hit, by Tom Glavine, twice. Once was a leadoff single, before Glavine set the next 27 down in order.

Here's the current positional outlook:


C Hector Villanueva, 45 GS, .629 OPS, 81 OPS+, 48.4% CS%
- 2-Star, marginal ML player. Waiver claim from Oak. Helluva cannon arm.

C Mike Bishop, 50 GS, .589 OPS, 68 OPS+, 40% CS%
- 2-Star, backup at best. Planned start to begin the year.


1B Carmelo Martinez, 12 GS, .807 OPS, 126 OPS+.
- 1.5-Star, borderline bench player. First is well documented above.

2B Geronimo Pena, 86 GS, .634 OPS, 79 OPS+, 10SB/13CS. .988 fielding
- 1.5-Star, starter all year, here for his defense.

SS Dick Schofield, 93 GS, .553 OPS, 58 OPS+, .968 fielding
- 1.5-Star, 2-time gold glove, here for his defense.

3B Ken Caminti, 96 GS, .633 OPS, 78 OPS+, 6 HR, 35 RBI, .963 Fielding
- 2-Star (3 Pot), pretty average all the way around.

LF Pete Incaviglia, 92 GS, .780 OPS, 117 OPS+, 17 HR, 54 RBI
- 2.5 Star, the only real damage producer in the lineup. Average starter.

CF Daryl Boston, 86 GS, .750 OPS, 111 OPS+, 16 SB
- 2.5- Star, somehow lost his role recently, considered a good starter

RF Lee Stevens, 69 GS, .659 OPS, 85 OPS+, 7 HR, 28 RBI.
- 2-Star (3 Pot), played a lot of 1B too, 2nd on team in HR. Borderline starter.

So that's the sad status of a terrible ballclub. The only bit of hope right now is that the Dodgers have the #4 farm club in all of MLB. They will have another high pick this year of course and these guys are close to needing to make the jump already.

Carl Everett, 20, (12th prospect) Playing A-Ball
Bobby Abreu, 17, (18th), High A Ball
Andy Pettitte, 19, (24th), AAA
Raul Rodarte, 21, (52nd), Low A
Damian Miller, 21, (55), High A
Shawn Estes, 18, (78), Rookie
Pat Rapp, 24, (94), AAA

You just know that someone from this list is getting called in September.

Anyway. It's rather pathetic to watch this team day after day. They lose, a lot. And the Expos are almost as bad. Kind of funny that just a few years ago, they both were dominating.

[PilotMan]

It was only a matter of time.

After multiple one-hitters, the Dodgers were finally no-hit this year, and by the Giants no less.

Greg Hibbard (5-12) lowered his ERA to 4.65, as the former 2nd rounder, and 40th overall pick threw his 1st no-no and 7th career shutout. Hibbard walked 3 and struck out 3.\


Arthur Rhodes (1-15) went the distance, allowing 1R, 4 hits and striking out 5.

[PilotMan]

August 17, 1991


If not for Dick Schofield knocking a single, LA would have been no-hit again. Greg Swindell was just killing us. I thought we were done. This is at least the 3rd 1 hitter this year, to go with the no hitter from just a few days ago. What a year of futility.



LA is now, sub .300 at 34-83. We are 37.5 games out of first place and 5.5 games behind the Expos for the next worst record in all of Major League Baseball.

[PilotMan]

September 8th, 1991


WTF?

Somehow this Dodger team has won 7 straight, and all 6 in September. They've run up and past Montreal for next worst team, but are still 6.5 behind the Blue Jays for the next place. Those 6 wins match the total the team had in June. That leads to an interesting thought. Those 3 teams played had 9 World Series appearances in the last 10 years, winning 3. Now they are the bottom 3 teams in the league.

LA pulled an aged Jeff Reardon (35) off the waiver wire and installed him as closer. He was 1-8, with 11 saves and 9 blown saves with a 6.15 ERA with the Phillies. Since coming to LA he's 1-4 with 5 saves, 2 blown and a 5.63 ERA.

[PilotMan]

That's that then.



Next game up, the Dodgers Frank Viola shut down the Pirates, while the Pirates Melido Perez struck out 14 in 7 innings of work. With 2 out in the 9th, and an out away from the shutout, Viola served up a game tying gopher ball to the Pirates George Bell (who they got off of waivers from Houston earlier in the year). The Pirates then pulled out the win in the 12th off of Arthur Rhodes (1-17) after he walked Brian Harper to lead it off, and then Damion Easley cracked a double down the line that Harper was able to score on. So much for the win streak.

[PilotMan]

Ok, forget everything I said. The Dodgers have not dropped 7 straight, with no wins since the streak. This most recent one was particularly Dodgers like.

Bottom of the 11th, Arthur Rhodes (1-18) came in and walked 4 straight for the literal walk-off loss.

[PilotMan]

End of the 1991 Regular Season

The Dodgers finished tied with the Expos for last place with a 54-108. That included a 14-13 September that had our 7 game win streak, the only month with a winning record.

I'm happy the season is over. It was a bit of a slog as a fan.

Danny Darwin (113) and Frank Viola (101) were the only starters to finish the year with a positive ERA+. Darwin over 34 starts held batters to a .238 average with a 3.42 ERA. While Viola had 36 starts, a .282 OAVG, and a 3.84 ERA.

Bob Patterson was the most valuable guy out of the pen. His 18 saves lead the team. Opponents his .244 and his ERA was a 3.56, with an ERA+ 109.

Among batters the most impactful players of the year were Pete Incaviglia (.241 avg/ 27 HR/ 78 RBI/ .743 OPS/ 107 OPS+), Daryl Boston (who eventually lost his starting job)(.264 AVG/ 22SB/ .725 OPS/ 104 OPS+), Lee Stevens (.261 AVG/ 15 HR/ 52RBI/ .718 OPS/ 101 OPS+) and Darren Lewis (who took Boston's job in CF)(.260 AVG/.343 OBP/ 18 SB/ 1.9 WAR/ 95 OPS).

That was it. Hard to win when that is the extent of your offensive pop and you really only have 2 good pitchers and a half decent set up guy you're using to close. Pretty brutal.

[PilotMan]

1991 Playoffs

NLCS

New York Mets (102-60) v. Houston Astros (99-63)

Mets

Most runs scored, least runs allowed, best record in MLB.

Lead by 30+HR bombers Bobby Bonilla (.300/30/96) and Reuben Sierra (.310/34/124) and a double play combo that has 8 gold gloves between them of Ozzie Smith and Robby Thompson. A pitching staff with Doc Gooden (16-7, 1.91 ERA). A reborn Jack Morris who missed nearly 16 months recovering from shoulder surgery the last 2 seasons only to put up a 2.55 ERA and throw 225 innings on his 36 yr old, reconstructed shoulder. Mike Morgan, whose only 2 winning seasons have been the last 2, and who probably wishes he'd made the All Star game putting up a 6.5 WAR. Then look at the bullpen where either Roger McDowell or Randy Myers can finish the night, and the team is free to use Charlie Liebrandt (2.93 ERA/ 221 IP/ 133 ERA+) now in the playoffs. This is the team to beat.

Houston Astros

NL Leaders in HR's, 3rd in offense, 2nd in runs against, and #1 defense.

Lead by Fred McGriff (.261/33/114), John Kruk (.324/18/91), Barry Larkin (.268/17/73), and Benito Santiago ( .274/20/88). The biggest blow is the recent loss of Lenny Dykstra to injury for the rest of the year, with a broken thumb.

This team has always had pitching, and this year it continues. Tom Candiotti (188 ERA+, 270 IP, 24-5, 2.03 ERA, 0.94 WHIP), Greg Swindell (2.11, 181 ERA+), Dennis Martinez (2.62, 146 ERA+), and Bruce Hurst (2.57, 149 ERA+). In the pen, it's Tom Henke (32S/ 2.08 ERA), trade acquisition Mark Eichhorn (the Expos former closer)(15S, 4.16) and Alejandro Pena (2.43, 5S, 157 ERA+).

The 'Stros aren't as stocked as they have been, but they are still dangerous.


ALCS


Baltimore Orioles v. Chicago White Sox
both at 101-61

Baltimore Orioles

2nd in runs, 5th in runs against, first in defense

A blasting offense with Griffey Jr (.328/32/134), Ripken Jr (.287/30/127), Wally Joyner (.280/27/101), Ellis Burks (.255/28/112). Both Delino Deshields (.314) and Kenny Lofton (.308) added offense.

The staff consists of Jimmy Key (3.18, 134 ERA+, 1.13 WHIP), Nolan Ryan (3.78, 113 ERA+, 1.34 WHIP) and closer Xavier Hernandez (36S, 1.83 ERA), who happens to be a rookie who was drafted by the Cubs and released by 3 teams before he got here.

Chicago White Sox

Best offense overall, 6th in runs against, 11 in defense.

This team has one of the best offenses of all time. They don't even need a pitching staff.

Barry Bonds (40/40; .335/45/137, 44SB, 206 OPS+, 1.096 OPS); Albert Belle (.315/58/171, 182 OPS+, 1.019 OPS), Paul Molitor (NL Batting Champ; .350/18/91), Todd Zeile (.305/29/102), Harold Baines (.276/22/82), and Devon White (.259/16/79; 41 SB).

Pitching? Who cares?

Only Jose DeLeon (107 ERA+) was above 100 as a starter. Lee Smith closes (29S; 2.33 WHIP, 182 ERA+)

I just want to say LA was dumb for trading Smith for Darryl Boston, even though Boston has added something to this loser team

And....AND!!! We have to talk about this trade that sent Belle from the Rangers to the White Sox THIS YEAR! On Feb 12, right before the start of spring training, the Rangers acquired OF Troy Neel. Neel at one point was the #74 prospect in MLB in '89, was selected to the AAA All Star game that year, and last year came off the bench for the Sox. Apparently, the Rangers thought he was hot shit. He did bat .277/20/82, with a 4.9 WAR and .800 OPS. Not awful, but my god, Belle had already homered 33 times in '89, then spent most of '90 in AAA where he won a Silver Slugger, but who would have seen what happened this year? Oh, and they also shipped Doug Jones, who had been an absolute bullpen horse for the Rangers, saving 30 in '88 and 19 in '89. In fact, he'd been important. With the White Sox, he only pitched in 74 games and threw 122 innings, with a 4.20 ERA, and a 1.27 WHIP. That has to be the worst fucking trade of the year.

[PilotMan]

1991 NLCS

Shocking.


The Mets were 7-5 against the Astros this season and came in as favorites to win the whole thing and repeat as World Champions. The Astros staff had other things in mind as they shut the Champs down.



1: 9-3 Astros
2: 4-2 Astros
3: 4-3 Astros
4: 5-1 Astros


It was tight overall, but the Astros were just that much better every game, and they only hit 2 homers the entire series. Former Dodger prospect Doug Jennings, who was starting for Dykstra played well, and John Kruk was the NLCS MVP.



ALCS

The offense was on display and we knew it would be. The Sox lead the

series 8-4 during the season and it continued here.



1: 8-3 Sox
2: 10-8 Orioles
3: 14-6 Sox
4: 9-5 Orioles
5: 3-2 Sox
6: 7-2 Sox



Where the entire Astros team only hit 2 HR's, the White Sox had 4 players hit 2 or more. Baines, Bonds and White all went deep 3 times in the 6 game series, while Belle added another pair. Griffey was held to a .222 average and the Orioles staff couldn't keep up. Harold Baines was ALCS MVP.



The White Sox are heading to their first World Series since 1959 to face the Houston Astros who won it all in '88.

[PilotMan]

1991 World Series

Game 1

Five lead changes, 3 blown saves (both closers and Doug Jones), and Tom Candiotti winning player of the game despite a 44 game score (lower than the Sox Witt, and he was knocked out in the 5th!). It should have been Eichhorn who was finally able to lock it down for the Astros after they took the lead in the bottom of the 8th.



Astros win 7-6.


Game 2

Astros pitching is again on display as Greg Swindell goes 7, with 7 K's while spreading 5 hits. Benito Santiago had 2, 2-out RBI singles, and that helped push the Astros to a 5-1 win. Bonds and Belle (Killer B's) have been kept totally in check so far. Astros lead 2-0


Game 3

The Sox carried a 3-0 lead late, only to have the Astros rally. Jose DeLeon was pulled in the 7th only allowing 1 hit. The Sox bullpen was on the hook after Doug Jones surrendered 4 hits, and John Henry Johnson couldn't keep them off home plate. The Astros once again used Henke in the 8th and after a lead off double by Jerry Browne, Eichhorn was called on again. A groundout, and a walk to Pagliarulo saw runners at the corners with 1 out. Oil Can Boyd was brought in to face Devon White. He fought back from on 0-2 count, but eventually flied out. One out away from a commanding 3-0 lead, Paul Molitor doubled on a gapper and Browne scored and put the winning run on 3rd. Bonds was walked to load them up for Belle, who singled in the winning run. Sox win 5-4.


Astros lead 2-1.


Game 4

A pitching duel? Bruce Hurst and Jamie Moyer go head to head and the Sox are the first to break a 1-1 tie in the 7th. Pena struggles out of the pen in the series continue and a 2-out double from Molitor propels the Sox to a 4-1 win over the Astros to tie the series up. Sox win 4-1.



Game 5

Tom Candiotti is so clutch. The reigning Cy Young and MVP walks 4 and allows 6 hits over 8, but nobody can score. The Astros get a 2-run jack from McGriff in the 6th and Henke closes to put the Astros on the brink with a 3-0 win as we head back to Houston.


Astros lead 3-2


Game 6

Pitchers duel? Again? Yep. Dave Stewart, who won 60 games over 3 seasons for the Astros got the start for the Sox, back in his old digs of the Astrodome. On the mound for Houston, was the game 2 killer, Greg Swindell. Neither pitcher would yield. It was zeros all night until the bottom of the 7th when a Fred McGriff drive found the seats in right field. Swindell struck out 7 over his 8 shut out innings. While in no less than 3 innings the Astros got the leadoff man on, only to have the next batter get doubled up. Tom Henke pitched a 1-2-3 9th and the Astros won again, 1-0.


Astros take the World Series in 1991.


Final Thoughts

The powerful White Sox got just one home run in 6 games. That stat alone defines this series. We've talked about just how dominant the 'Stros pitching was and that is the proof in the pudding. Bonds was held to .261/.346/.304. Belle was held to .250/.280/.292. Even Fred McGriff only hit .200/.292/.550, but it was that one HR that mattered. Greg Swindell won 2 games with a 0.60 ERA, walked none and struck out 14 to take home World Series MVP honors. He also went 2-3 with the bat. In the postseason he's a career .250/.273/.400 batter in 24 plate appearances. In the regular season he hits .105/.138/.130. Pitching is still a big deal, even if you've got a couple Killer B's.

[PilotMan]

The very first day after the Series, Frank Viola ops out of his contract. I can't say I blame him, and the team fires it's first year GM, then offers me the job. It's tempting, but I really want to keep this as a fan game.

LA heads into the offseason with the 2nd lowest payroll in baseball and at the very least, enough budget space to move them back up at least to the middle of the pack. The young prospects aren't ready for the run yet. I wonder how they'll figure this one out.

[PilotMan]

1991 Gold Gloves


AL


P Roger Clemens SEA (1)
C Mike Lavalliere MIL (2)
1B John Olerud NYY (2)
2B Roberto Alomar CLE (2)
3B Tim Wallach CAL (4)
SS Tony Fernandez KC (3)
LF Ellis Burks BAL (2)
CF Eric Davis CAL (1)
RF Roberto Kelly BOS (1)


NL


P Dwight Gooden NYM (2)
C Benito Santiago HOU (2)
1B Mickey Morandini CIN (2)
2B Willie Randolph MON (3)
3B Chris Sabo ATL (1)
SS Barry Larkin HOU (2)
LF Steve Finley SF (2)
CF Ron Gant PHI (1)
RF Lance Johnson STL (1)


Rolaids Reliever of the Year


Xavier Hernandez BAL 36/41 S 14/3 IR 21.4% IRS 1.83 ERA


Brian Harvey SF 33/40 S 18/2 IR 11.1 IRS 2.33 ERA
-2nd Award


Silver Slugger Awards


AL


C Mickey Tettleton NYY (2)

1B John Olerud NYY (2)
2B Delino DeShields BAL (1)
3B Todd Zeile CHI (2)
SS Cal Ripken Jr BAL (6)
LF Barry Bonds CHI (7)
CF Ken Griffey Jr BAL (1)
RF Jay Buhner TEX (2)
DH Albert Belle CHI (1)


NL



P Danny Darwin LA (1)
C Chris Hoiles PHI (1)
1B Fred McGriff HOU (2)
2B Julio Franco PHI (5)
3B Charlie Hayes NYM (1)
SS Matt Williams SD (1)
LF Ruben Sierra NYM (2)
CF Kirby Puckett MON (3)
RF Larry Walker PHI (2)


Rookie of the Year

AL



Javy Lopez BOS .305/12/75
- Chipper Jones and Mike Piazza were 2nd and 3rd respectively.



NL


Juan Guzman CIN 11-15, 3.71 ERA 218K's
- Jose Martinez was 2nd


Manager of the Year

AL



Joey Halford BAL (1)


NL



Bill Virdon HOU (5)


Cy Young

AL


Tom Gordon CLE (1)

- Lead the AL in ERA, K's, WHIP
- Jim Abbott NYY was the only other player to get a first place vote.



NL


Tom Candiotti HOU (2)
- Lead in W, IP, BABIP, 7 SHO
- All 26 first place votes


MVP

AL


Albert Belle CHI (1)
- lead league in doubles, HR's, RBI's, and SLG
- Bonds got 2 first place votes


Tom Candiotti HOU (2)
- Back to Back Cy Young and MVP. Historic.

- Tom Glavine was the runner up, Larry Walker 3rd with the other 5 first place votes.

[PilotMan]

LA avoids arbitration by coming to 1-yr terms with:
P Sergio DelRosario
C Tom Dodd
P Peter Chapin
P Bob Patterson
P Ed Wojna

3B Ken Caminiti
C Hector Villanueva

LF Pete Incaviglia

2B Geronimo Pena
1B Lee Stevens


LA announces that they have signed Mets GM Donald Withington to a 4-yr deal. He's been the architect of a team that hasn't won less than 90 games since '84. LA doubles his pay to get him from the Mets.


LA also makes a completely unconventional announcement. By signing HOF Pitcher Gaylord Perry as the team's new hitting coach. Interesting choice.

[PilotMan]

1991 First Year Player Draft


Last season LA grabbed a couple of good prospects, and this year we have the #2 pick in the draft. Let's see who this new hot shot GM decides to take.


1 (2) OF Richard Hidalgo - 16yo kid out of high school only wanted his slot bonus. The team couldn't afford the big name player with "The Franchise" on his head out there.

1 (32) P Chris Holt - 20yr old college kid who throws 5 pitches from a sidearm slot.

2 (41) SS Jeff Patzke - 18 yr old, could play a number of infield positions, might develop, or maybe not. Who knows?

LA rounded out the first 5 rounds with names like: Larry Sutton, D T Cromer, Rene Arocha, and Mike Moyle.


Not a great pool to be honest, not a great draft either.

[PilotMan]

Free Agency has been a bust so far. They've tried here and there, but all the names are walking.


C Rick Wilkins was drafted from the Mets in the Rule 5. He would be starting right away if nothing changes.



The team signed veteran outfielder, 4-time All Star, and Silver Slugger winner Lloyd Moseby from the Angels. Moseby hasn't played over 100 games in a year since '87. He's only his 22 HR's in the last 4 years combined. He gets a minor league deal to start.



Frank Viola signs with the Pirates for about 750k more per season than the contract he walked away from in LA.


Halfway through the offseason and nothing to show for it.

[PilotMan]

The 1992 Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Roster

The off season was not kind. As bad as LA was, they were 24th out of 26 teams in change in WAR. That's not good for looking ahead. You'll see the struggles that this team will face as we explore the roster. The only good news for the future, is that the Dodgers now have the #1 farm system in baseball, with the 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th top prospects in baseball, and another 5 in the top 100.

Pitchers

1. Rene Arocha - A 26yr old, 4th round pick who not only made the team as a rookie, but heads up the teams staff. Arocha is under a lot of pressure here. This is far beyond anything he had to be anticipating.

2. Peter Chapin - He's 33 now, and lost a league leading 19 games last year as the #3 guy. He was just above replacement player level last year. No reason to expect more from him this year.

3. Pat Rapp - He's a 24 yr old rookie, former 2nd round pick who went 9-11 with a 5.59 ERA last year in AAA. He's still the Dodgers #4 pitching prospect and in the top 100 league wide.

4. Arthur Rhodes - He's 22 with 2 seasons under his belt and you have to wonder if getting pressed into action has been good for him. He's posted sub replacement level stats, with a 4-28 career record and a 5+ career ERA. He needs to fix his major control problems.

5. Andy Pettitte - If you thought Rhodes was young, Pettitte is only 19 and the team's top pitching prospect. He bounced between AA and AAA last year. He did good, but this is way before his time.

RP David Peck - Had a rough year in 33 games for LA last season. His 7.83 ERA was turning heads for all the wrong reasons.

RP Lyle Swepson - One of the more reliable arms in the pen last year. Posted a 3.75 ERA in 32 games. His 1.58 WHIP wasn't awesome, but serviceable.

RP Tony McKinney - A good arm in AAA, who was just getting settled in with the main team when he lost time with an injury. In 30 career games at the ML level, he has a 3.54 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.

SU Scott Baker - He has struggled with injuries, but been effective when he's been on. Gets to the upper 90's with his fastball, has above average stuff.

SU Joe Grahe - Grahe is transitioning from being a starter to the bullpen. The rookie, former 14th round pick, went 6-3 with a 4.84 ERA in AAA last year. Set up seems like a big role for him, but the bullpen is this as it is.

CL Bob Patterson - The anchor of the bullpen last season, and he'll have to do it again. He's got good stuff, very good control and a lively fastball. He got 18 saves last year. It would be better to have him setting up, rather than closing. He's the only lefty in the pen.

Catchers

Rick Wilkins - Rule 5 Draft Pick from the Mets. Wilkins split time between AA and AAA last year. He was a former 2nd round pick by the Royals.

Hector Villanueva - He worked his way into the starting lineup last year, was best known for his good arm, and occasional power.

First Base

Lee Stevens - Split time last year between first and the outfield, but now looks to be holding down the job at first. Was one of the more dangerous bats toward the end of the year. Enters his 3rd year of ML service.


Jack Clark - The Ripper is a 5-time All Star, and 2-time Silver Slugger, but he's also 36 now. His productivity dropped from 42 dingers to 15 and his average from .256 to .223. He can still get on base and has a good eye, and some pop in his bat.

Second Base

Geronimo Pena - He's an offensive liability with speed and some average defense. Replaceable, but there's nobody worthy enough to unseat him.

Jeffrey Wilson - Wilson is nearly 32, and is still pretty quick on the bases. He started for the Reds back in '88 and scored over 100 runs, but fell out of favor and only played in 131 games the last 2 years. His career .215 average isn't going to get him any awards.

Third Base


Ken Caminiti - He's been a regular fixture in the lineup for 4 years now enters his last contract year. He still hasn't lived up to his future projections, but he isn't hurting the team either.

Dave Hansen - Only used as a pinch hitter last year. Hansen only started one game. If he's pressed into a lot of action this are not going well for the team.

Shortstop

Dickie Thon - The departure of sure fielding and light hitting Dick Schofield opened the door for the spring training signing of the 33 yr old Thon. He still stole 20 bases, hit 10 homers last year. We are his 4th team in 4 years. He's still below average with the bat, and with the glove.

Dave Rhode - Rhode is the teams utility guy, and he moves around the infield where needed. His best attribute is his baserunning ability. He's not going to be starting anytime in the future.

Outfield

LF Ricky Henderson - That's right, Rickey is back, and he's here for 5 years and is the new highest paid player. Rickey was the only player LA could get in free agency, mostly because every other team had given up on him. Last year for the Yankees his average dropped 27 points, and slugging was down 47. He did walk a league leading 144 times and still stole 57 bases.

CF Darren Lewis - Lewis stole the starting job from Boston last year by playing good defense, possessing good speed, and using a good eye to get on base. He was a semi-reliable leadoff guy and won't hurt the team.

RF Pete Incaviglia - Inky was all the power last year. He hit 24, and struck out 134 times. He is a pretty poor defender, and in right that is going to hurt. It would be really nice if he could keep that power going this year.

OF Daryl Boston - We could be worse off here. Boston can do a little bit of everything. Decent defender, can hit an occasional homer, still runs with good speed. He's not going to get his staring job back, but he's got to contribute.

Who's Out -

Ed Wojna - for a moment it looked like he was going to be the ace, but he didn't even make the roster despite a decent spring.

Von Hayes - One of the highest paid players on the team, he's really dropped off the last couple years, and there are no openings in the outfield. He was more of a liability than a help last year.

Who's in the minors -

Dale Murphy - hit 16 HR's last year, but really struggled to stay consistent. He's 36. Not likely to make an impact even if he gets the call.

[PilotMan]

I'm still playing, but Rimworld sucked all my time for a few months. We're about halfway through '92 right now. I came across something kind of funny.

John Elway, without the pressure of football is still slaving away in the minors. He's been with the Yankees, Angels, Indians, A's. He held on with the Cardinals in '86 and got a couple extensions, but became a free agent again in '90. Reupped with the Cards one more time, and ended up with LA this year.

His career has been less than stellar. He's now 32 and riding the pine in AA San Antonio. He made it as far as AAA a couple times, but the most games he's ever played in any year, all levels combined is 109 back in '86. Still he hangs on with not trips to The Show.

A career WAR of 2.2, 32 HR's, 110 SB's in 555 games. His average is .223 with a career OPS of .649.

LA has a number of former stars riding around in the minors right now. Too bad they didn't have them at their peaks, because they could have used them.

Jack Clark (36)(1B) is a glorified PH for the main club. Two years ago he hit 42. He's got 0 in 37 at bats this year.

Mike Marshall (32)(1B) starting first basemen in Albuquerque. One time slugger and right fielder, who hit 25 with a 5.2 WAR back in '83 left LA in '87. He's been with the Red Sox, Rangers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, A's, Orioles, and Tigers since coming back to LA last year. He's rocking an OPS of .787 with 11 HR's.

Jesse Barfield (32)(OF) The former 2-time Gold Glover, All Star, and Silver Slugger hit 5 HR's last year for the Royals and came to LA on a minor league deal. He's got 187 career bombs, with high of 30 back in '83. His recent .211 average and .649 OPS with the Royals over 3.5 years didn't impress. He's starting in right for Albuquerque. With 11 HR's and a .244 average.

Lloyd Moseby (32) (OF) The former 4-time All Star, Gold Glover, and Silver Slugger came to LA in the offseason from cross town loser California. Last year he batted .192 with 4 HR's and a -0.4 WAR in part time duty. His last good year was in '87 when he lead the AL in runs scored with 143. His 163 career dingers and 228 steals are nice, but he's really fallen off from where he was. He's played well in limited duty for the Dukes, but he's not starting right now.

Dale Murphy (36)(OF) Another 4-time All Star, 2-time Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove winner from the 80's. Murphy has 11 HR's and leads the Dukes with 52 RBI's batting cleanup and batting as the DH. He played in Baltimore last year where his -1.1 WAR didn't impress and neither did his .224 average or 16 HR's and 120 K's. He's at 317 HR's for his career with a .774 OPS. He had some good years with Houston, but nothing close to what he did in Atlanta.

Nick Esasky (32) (1B) Esasky was once a massive bomber and All Star back in '86. His career high in homers was 37 for the Reds in '87. He's been in the LA system for 3 years trying to make his way back, but while he was in AAA 2 years ago, this year, he's been mostly in AA. Where he's been rocking a -0.4 WAR and .645 OPS with 8 HR's in 254 AB's.


With all those bats, the AAA Dukes are still in last place with a 41-52 record, similar to the main club, who are sitting at 45-59 early in August. We are not the worst this year though, like we were last year. Still, pretty back for a fan to endure.

[PilotMan]

LA Dodgers 1992 Year in Review

LA improved on last year's 100 loss season with a 68-94 record. Good enough for 5th place in the NL West, and 27 games behind the Astros, who won the division. It's hard to believe that there were any bright spots this year. The only thing this team did great was fielding. They lead the NL in Zone Rating, tied for second in Errors, and was 3rd in Defensive Efficiency. That fielding saved many games.

The LA Times Dodger Player of the Year was Rickey Henderson. Henderson played in 160 games, batted .272 (lead team) with 117 walks (lead team), a .399 OPB, and .794 OPS. Henderson lead the team in HR's with 15 and SB with 62. He was caught stealing 30 times though, posted a negative Zone Rating in LF, and had 4 errors. He was the runaway leader in WAR with a 4.6, double that of the next best player. Congrats to Dodger MVP, Rickey Henderson!

Here's the quick lowdown on how everyone else did this year.

Pitching

Starters

The best story was that of young rookie Andy Pettitte. He split time this year between the Show and AAA, with the bulk coming with the main club. He struggled getting any run support, getting 1.71 R/G while posting a 3.94 ERA, a 5-13 record, and OAVG of .227. He's clearly got talent for big things, even in some bad games, he was in control many times. Even at 20, he was the top pitcher for the team.

The rest of the starters were rounded out by Arthur Rhodes (8-12, 3.88, 145K's, 171 IP, only starter with more than 50% quality starts); Peter Chapin (10-9, 3.75, 185 IP); Pat Rapp (10-11, 4.85, 178 IP, only player with any awards, won Rookie of the Month in September); and Rene Arocha (9-16, 4.92, 179 IP, he started strong, but got weaker as the season went on). Don Robinson (very same one) was added mid season for two minor prospects, and he started 14, went 3-6 with a 4.96 ERA.

Bullpen

We should name this all about Bob Patterson. Patterson kept his job as closer and turned in the best season on the mound for any Dodger pitcher, before seeeing his season end prematurely. He posted a 1.83 ERA in 54 games, 22/25 in saves and lead the team with 7 holds. He was the only, only, only pitcher out of the pen with any success this year. The pen was crushed with injuries, and the starters made sure everyone got plenty of work. One of the best moves the team made was a mid June trade with the Rangers that send Inky away in return for another former Dodger farmhand in Jose Cleto and Gary Gaetti. Cleto is young at 23, and shows big promise with a 2.86 ERA in 20 games, bu only 8 for LA. He can hit triple digits on the gun. By the end LA had brought on 3-time All Star Jim Clancy, who had been released by the Phillies, and already announced his intent to retire after this year. Clancy actually shut opponents down in his 10 games. The rest were pretty awful. At one point, Scott Coolbaugh came on to pitch in a game. He got his inning, took a loss, and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs.

Batters

Speaking of Scott Coolbaugh, and this will be the last time you hear about him, but he came to bat 36 times this year, garnered a whopping 7 hits (.194) and 4 of them flew out of the park. He made the most of it I guess. Aside from Henderson playing in almost every game, we also had Lee Stevens (.251/.293/.387) and Ken Caminiti (.250/.306/.341) who saw lots of game time. Stevens played first and right, whilc Caminiti played mostly at 3rd, until injuries saw him move to cover second, while Gaetti moved to third. Speaking of Gaetti (.232/.273/342) he came over from Texas (still sucked, but did get his 1500th career hit with LA), we also were reunited with SS Ozzie Smith (.227/.307/.293) after he was placed on waivers by the Mets (he couldn't his for anything, but only committed 4 errors at short).

Darren Lewis (.266/.325/.334, 40 SB) was a nice addition and in spite of just how bad that line looks. He was the 2nd best weapon on the team. He started in CF, lost his job, got it back, then moved to RF for the end of the year.

Rookie Catcher, Rick Wilkins (.221/.286/.356, 14 HR's) found a home behind the plate. He's good defensively, but his offense wasn't amazing. The other big rookie was OF Carl Everett. Everett is the #2 prospect in the Dodger organization and he was called up, won the job in CF and then got hurt. So that's pretty much how things went this year. Everett did hit though (.326/.379/.403, 11 SB, 39 G). CF will be his to lose next year, and he looks very promising and exciting.

Geronimo Pena had been good at 2nd, but he was injured a lot and missed over 50 games. In spite of that he still stole 30 bases, and had over 100 hits.

Prospects

Richard Hildago (17) played rookie ball all year, didn't impress.

Carl Everett (21) you know how it went.

Andy Pettitte (20) you know.

Bobby Abreu (18) started in Low A, and moved up to high A and only got better. Was moved up to AA by the end of the year.

Ismael Valdez (19) played rookie and short A this year, looked good, but was lost in August to a shoulder injury.

Shawn Estes (19) started in Low A, but was demoted to rookie halfway though.

[tucking fypo]

Some good young talent you have, Pilot. Maybe another strong arm in the rotation and improved hitting by the youngsters will get you a shot at .500 ball next season.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by tucking fypo

Some good young talent you have, Pilot. Maybe another strong arm in the rotation and improved hitting by the youngsters will get you a shot at .500 ball next season.

We'll see, yes some good young guys, and what looks like the 3rd pick in this year's draft. I hope they can keep pulling. We do have the #1 farm system in baseball. The stupid owner prioritizes profit, and he's an economizer, which has made things hard, but the team is turning a profit now, and has some budget space. With very little loss projected this off season there's hope for next year for sure.

[PilotMan]

1992 Playoffs

NLCS

Houston Astros (95-67) v. Pittsburgh Pirates (101-61)

Houston Astros

2nd in Runs scored and against; 7-5 against the Pirates

The defending World Series champs have a chance to repeat, but are far from the dominant team they have been. The Astros topped the West by 4 games over Atlanta. This is their 4th straight appearance in the NLCS. They have more fantastic pitching lead by Tom Candiotti (15-8, 2.84); Gred Swindell (11-14, 2.78); Oil Can Boyd (19-7, 3.26); and Bruce Hurst (12-9, 3.18). The back of the pen is locked down by Rodger McDowell (9-6, 26S, 2.65). Dennis Martinez had held down the other spot, but he was lost a couple months ago with an old man, arthritic elbow.

Offense is set by CF Lenny Dykstra (.289/.360/.409, 59SB), SS Barry Larkin (.284/.357/.447, 20HR), Fred McGriff (.265/.346/.443, 27HR), Edgar Martinez (.285/.370/.430) and team HR leader Rob Deer (.213/.296/.419, 30HR). Not the dominant force that they once had, but there's plenty there to scare any staff.

Pittsburgh Pirates

7th in runs scored, 1st in runs against.

The Pirates put up the best record in baseball and plowed the Phillies by 14 games in the East. They have the best pitching staff in the National League and possibly the best in baseball. With the holes in their offense, they'll need every bit of it. Their rotation consists of Melido Perez (21-10, 2.52); Jack McDowell (18-7, 2.58); Doug Drabek (17-9, 2.55), and Steve Avery (12-14, 3.06). Even better is the bullpen with closer Mike Henneman (46S, 2.15); last year's Astros closer, Tom Henke (3.78), Paul Assenmacher (1.33), and Mark Guthrie (4.53). They can easily shot down anyone.

On offense LF Chili Davis (.261/.366/.386) lead the team in HR's with 15. Only 3 players had more than 10. A shortfall that will surely be a threat against the Astros. They do have guys who can get on through, with 2B Bip Roberts (.300/.349/.381), SS Tim Naehring (.296/.371/.371), C Brian Harper (.300/.337/.382), and CF Robin Yount (.304/.346/.419).

ALCS

Chicago White Sox (87-75) v. New York Yankees (96-66)

Chicago White Sox

1st in runs scored, 10th in runs against; 6-6 against the Yankees

The White Sox won on the last day of the year. The Mariners had lead all year long but stumbled to a 2-8 finish at the end, losing the last 4. The White Sox had to win 5 in a row to overtake them, then broke the hearts of the Rangers fans who had seen their team win 7 straight, and 9 of 10 to charge into the picture, only to be held off at the very end. It was something to see!

The Sox are hoping to get another chance after last year's loss to the Astros. With a loaded batting order, their pitching has been needed to be less than stellar. However, their pitching is still quality. Lead by Jack Morris (13-12, 3.67), Jose Guzman (16-8, 2.89), Bobby Witt (17-12, 3.75) and Luis Aquino (11-8, 4.64). The Sox pen has some big names, who had underwhelming seasons. They lost former Dodger closer John Franco to a shoulder injury, but still have. Doug Jones (19S, 5.00), Rick Aguilera (4.17) and Jeff Russell (4.48).

The batting order is next level, but even then, they lost the big bat in the lineup after 93 games with a broken kneecap Barry Bonds (.323/.399/.559, 20HR, 22SB). While the loss of Bonds hurts, they still have plenty of firepower. You don't get to be the #1 offense with one guy. Todd Zeile at 3B (.274/.343/.388), RF Harold Baines had a huge, resurgent year (.324/.380/.504, 30HR), LF Albert Belle (.298/.360/.541, 38 HR (lead the AL)), 2B Lou Whitaker (.303/.411/.466), DH Andres Gallaraga could be comeback player of the year (.283/.316/.466, 28HR), and C BJ Surhoff (remember him?)(.287/.318/.357).

New York Yankees

5th in runs scored, 5th in runs against

The Yankees are the hottest team in the playoffs. After fighting the Orioles all year, they pulled away winning 10 in a row to finish 4 up and take the AL East. Heading up the rotation is Bret Saberhagen (16-6, 2.85), Jim Abbott (14-10, 4.01), Kevin Gross (14-8, 4.45) and Kirk McCaskill (8-14, 5.24). Not satsified with a back end bullpen of Rob Murphy (3.99) and closer Lee Smith (25S, 3.40) they pulled a deadline deal for Angels closer Jeff Montgomery (40S, 3.08) and he took over the job.

There's plenty of spark up and down the lineup too. From LF Brady Anderson (.272/.359/.409), 2B Carlos Baerga (.350/.384/.468), 1B John Olerud (.329/.443/.506, 23 HR), C Mickey Tettleton (.248/.363/.455, 23 HR), DH Don Mattingly (.303/.338/.439, 17HR), RF Dave Winfield (.269/.307/.411) and former Dodger SS Dick Schofield.

[PilotMan]

1991 LCS

National

1: 8-2 Astros
2: 6-3 (12) Astros
3: 5-3 Astros
4: 8-3 Pirates
5: 5-0 Astros

Astros take the NLCS and advance to the Series to defend their title. Candiotti (2-0) was series MVP.

American

1: 6-0 Yankees
2: 9-5 Yankees
3: 5-2 White Sox
4: 7-2 White Sox
5: 4-1 White Sox
6: 8-1 Yankees
7: 11-3 White Sox

It'll be a rematch after the Sox come back and stun the Yankees with a game 7 wipeout in Yankee Stadium. Andres Galarraga was the Series MVP.

[PilotMan]

1992 World Series

Game 1

The Astros opened up a can of whoopass in game one. They got 18 hits, and 9 walks, for 27 runners, 10 came home to score. With a 5-5 game and a HR form McGriff and another from Darren Daulton in the 8th. Bobby Witt didn't stand a chance and Greg Swindell took another WS win pitching into the 8th. White Sox take game 1, 10-1.

Astros lead series 1-0

Game 2

It's beginning to look like the Chicago pitching staff cannot contain the Astros lineup. Houston got two in the first and three in the second to go up 5-0, helped by a Rob Deer HR. Reigning Cy Young winner Tom Candiotti goes the distance, throwing only 121 pitches. Meanwhile Jose Guzman couldn't get out of the 2nd inning, putting even more pressure on the Sox bullpen. Astros win 7-1.

Astros lead the series 2-0

Game 3

Desparate to make something of the series and at home, the White Sox plow through Oil Can Boyd for 6 runs in the first inning, knocking him from the game. They would add another in the 2nd taking a 7-0 lead. The Astros would not be denied though, answering with 6 in the 3rd and sending the Sox, Jack Morris from the game. This time though, the Sox pen would hold off the Astros and grab their first win of the series 8-6. Sox CF Devon White went 2-2, hit a first inning HR, and stole 4 bases in the game.

Astros lead the series 2-1

Game 4

Luis Aquino got the ball for the White Sox taking on Bruce Hurst of the Astros. Once again, things got ugly early and this time it was on a historical level. I mean, record setting, shocking, destructive and demoralizing. Aquino got Dykstra to lead off the game, then....double, double, single. Edgar Martinez strikes out for the second out. Then single, single, double and Aquino was gone. Once again the Astros got to the Sox pen early, and today it would all pay off. Dale Sveum would homer off of Kevin Cavalier before Dykstra would be out again. The Astros would jump to a 7-0 lead and this time that would not be all. At the end of 2 it was 8-2, then it was 10-2 after 3. The Astros would end with 14 extra base hits in the game, 4 of those homers. Fred McGriff would set a record, scoring 6 times. Both he and Edgar Martinez would put up 5 RBI's and Rob Deer would get 6. Bruce Hurst pitched into the 8th. At the end of the 5th inning it would be 17-2 and the Sox would have gone through 5 pitchers again. The 6th would be pitched by OF Ernie Young, the 7th and 8th by SS Eddie Pye and 1B Chris Pritchett, and the 9th by 2B James Mouton. None of them did well. White Sox pitchers threw 282 pitches in 9 innings of work. The Astros 129. When it was all said and done, the Astros had 25 hits, and 17 walks for a total of 42 baserunners, and of those 42, an unbelievable 33 scored. In the end, after 4 hours and 29 minutes, in front of 44,464 disgusted White Sox faithful, the Houston Astros won 33-2. OMG.

The Astros lead the series 3-1 and look completely unstoppable.

Game 5

For the final game in Chicago, the Astros sent Greg Swindell back to the mound in the hopes of one final wipeout of the White Sox. Bobby Witt headed up to the mound for the Sox. The Sox got on the board first when SS Gustavo Hernandez singled in Whitaker and Surhoff. The Astros answer with 2 in the 3rd on a McGriff single to tie it. The Sox answer again when Lou Whitaker fouled off 5 balls then caught a 1-2 pitch and yanked it down the left field line for another 2 run HR. The Astros answered again in the 4th to tie it back up on another Dale Sveum HR. All square again in the 6th, and Witt leaves for Luis Aquino. The Astros take advantage of an error by Galarraga and a Doug Jennings double that scored 2 to take a 6-4 lead. Bottom of the 7th Swindell gives way to Storm Davis and Hernandez opens up with a solo homer to cut the lead. Devon White gets hit and eventually comes around to score and give the Sox the lead they wouldn't let go. Despite 14 hits by the Astros the Sox bullpen manages to hold the Astros the rest of the way to claim an 8-6 win.

Astros lead the White Sox 3-2

Game 6

We head back to Houston, with the Astros on the brink. On the mound for Houston is Candiotti, a 3-0 post season record and 1.00 ERA. Against him is Jose Guzman (1-1, 6.23). In a game unlike we have seen this far in this series, both pitchers go toe to toe. The second inning starts off with Whitaker getting a professional at bat again, drawing a walk on 8 pitches. Galarraga singles, Surhoff singles to load the bases. Eddit Pye grounds into a double play, scoring Whitaker, and Guzman flies out. That got one home for the Sox and that was it. Guzman drove the rest of the way, going the distance, striking out 7, against 4 hits, in what goes down as one of the single most important pitching performances in baseball history. The Sox pick up game 6 with a 1-0 win in a nailbiter and somehow even the series.

The series is tied.

Game 7

In Houston, one last battle. The White Sox send 37 yr old Jack Morris against 19-game winner, Oil Can Boyd. Like other games in this back and forth series, the Astros would strike first, in the first, Dykstra would walk, steal 2nd, then score on a throwing error by Morris. Barry Larkin doubled in Jennings and the Astros were up 2-0 in quick fashion. Albert Belle answered right away in the top of the 2nd with a ripped ball into the left field seats to get the Sox on board, and cut the lead. The Astros would answer again, and Morris would struggle in the 2nd. With 2 quick outs and a Deer on 2nd, Dykstra singled, and Jennings singled to plate Deer giving the Astros a 3-1 lead. It would stay like that and Boyd would take control until the 7th when Baines and Belle would single back to back to give the Sox a threat. Two on, nobody out. Boyd then got Whitaker to flyout, Galarraga to fly out, and Surhoff to fly out and end the threat with none scoring. McDowell came on in the 8th and gave up a lead off single to Eddie Pye. Pye got to second on a fielders choice then tried to score on a Devon White single, but Lenny Dykstra threw him out at home plate. Zeile popped out and another threat was thwarted. McDowell had to face Mouton, Belle and Whitaker in the 9th and retired them all in order to give the Astros the 3-1 win and the title of ....

Back to Back World Champions.

Fred McGriff, The Crime Dog, was named World Series MVP. He batted .467/.556/.833 in 7 games with 2 HR's. It really could have gone to any number of players the Astros made the White Sox pitching look foolish with only Doug Jones and Jeff Russell posting sub-4 ERA's for the series. Rob Deer's line was .429/.600/.762 wtih 2 HR's. Morandini, Larkin, and Dykstra all hit over .300 in the series. And Dale Sveum, who only had 4 hits, and who hasn't hit a major league HR since 1988, hit 2 big ones. The White Sox big 3 of White/Baines/Belle all batted over .300 and hit 4 HR's, while former Dodger, BJ Surhoff hit .208.

That's it for this season. Stay tuned for this year's awards!

[PilotMan]

LA avoids arbitration by signing the following to 1-yr deals:

RP Sergio DelRosario
SP Peter Chapin
CL Bob Patterson
RP Scott Baker
2B Geronimo Pena
1B Lee Stevens

For lack of alternatives, I'd say those were smart choices. Patterson gets 1.2M in the deal, and is tied for the 2rd highest paid player on the team heading into next season.

[PilotMan]

1992 MLB Awards


Gold Glove Awards


AL


P – Rodger Clemens SEA (2)
C – Ivan Rodriguez MIN (1) (R)
1B – Bill Doran SEA (1)
2B – Jeff Cirillo BOS (1)(R)
3B – Tim Wallach CAL (5)
SS – Greg Gagne CAL (1)
LF – Junior Felix BOS (1)
CF – Lance Johnson MIL (2)
RF – Kenny Lofton BAL (1)


NL


P – Dwight Gooden NYM (3)
C – Don Slaught STL (1)
1B – Mo Vaughn ATL (1)
2B – Mickey Morandini HOU (3)
3B – Charlie Hayes NYM (1)
SS – Barry Larkin HOU (3)
LF – Ron Gant PHI (2)
CF – Carlos De La Rosa SD (1)
RF – Bernie Williams SF (1)




Rolaids Reliever of the Year


AL


Jeff Montgomery NYY (2)
- 5-7, 40/47 S, 3.08, 1.42 WHIP, .292 OAA

• The Yankees Lee Smith was the runner up. Nice job of them snagging such a stud at the deadline. It almost got them over the hump to a new title.

NL


Mike Henneman PIT (1)

• • 5-4, 46/48 S, 2.15, 1.09 WHIP, .208 OAA

Big numbers for the save leader in baseball for the 2^nd year in a row. He was a big part of why the Pirates nearly made the Series this year.






Silver Slugger Awards


AL


C – Mike Piazza OAK (1) .277/.334/.461 22 HR's
1B – Rafael Palmeiro MIL (1) .326/.432/.551 28 HRs
2B – Carlos Baerga NYY (1) .350/.384/.468 15 HRs
3B – Jeff Blauser BAL (1) .306/.397/.452 19 HR's
SS – Travis Fryman DET (1) .307/.383/.496 23 HR's
LF – Moises Alou OAK (1) .318/.366/.484 16 HR's
CF – Ken Griffey Jr BAL (2) .306/.391/.479 26 HR's
RF – Harold Baines CHI (1) .324/.380/.504 30 HR's
DH – Albert Belle CHI (2) .298/.360/.541 38 HR's


NL


P – Bob Ojeda SD (1) .250/.261/.294
C – Chris Hoiles PHI (2) .267/.353/.454 23 HR's
1B – Frank Thomas SF (1) .323/.444/.593 41 HR's
2B – Craig Biggio ATL (3) .299/.378/.448 18 HR's
3B – Robin Ventura SD (1) .328/.403/.495 21 HR's
SS – Barry Larkin HOU (4) .284/.357/.447 20 HR's
LF – David Justice CHI (1) .271/.374/.475 25 HR's
CF – Kirby Puckett MON (4) .331/.371/.449 10 HR's
RF – Larry Walker PHI (3) .295/.360/.451 15 HR's




Rookie Of the Year


AL


Jeff Cirillo BOS .311/14/91, was a unanimous pick with 28 first place votes.


Bret Boone, Ivan Rodriguez, and Carlos Delgado were the other vote getters.


NL


Manny Ramirez MON .244/14/70, got 27 votes, only Tim Pugh also from MON got another first vote.


Will Cordero, Jason Giambi and Tim Pugh were the other vote getters. Rick Wilkins also got a few votes at the bottom.






Manager of the Year


AL


Steve Trunzo NYY (1)


NL


Bill Virdon HOU (6)








Cy Young Award


AL


Rodger Clemens SEA (4) 20-5, 2.45, 198 K's, 1.09 WHIP, 9.3 rWAR


Clemens won the triple crown in the AL this season, but was not unanimous. Bret Saberhagen stole a first place vote from him.


NL


Melido Perez PIT (1) 21-10, 2.52, 230 K's, 0.98 WHIP, 8.7 rWAR


In what was the tightest battle for any award, Perez, who had a fabulous year, narrowly edged out Greg Maddux by 2 first place, and 11 overall votes. Here's Maddux's line for a comparison. Controversial. Candiotti was 3^rd.


21-8, 2.26, 223 K's, 1.04 WHIP, 10.0 rWAR




Most Valuable Player


AL


Rafael Palmeiro MIL (1)


Palmeiro played in all 162 games, put together an OPS+ of 175 and a WAR of 8.3. He narrowly beat (11/287) out John Olerud (7/257) and Harold Baines (4/252) for the win. Carlos Baerga and Albert Belle were the other first place vote getters. Palmeiro signed a 6-yr extension this year to he'll be with Milwaukee for a while.


NL


Frank Thomas SF (1)


Thomas, for whatever reason, didn't play full time last year, but he proved that he had plenty of reason to be there this year. Thomas was a force to be reckoned with. He got all of the first place votes except for one that went to Perez (?). Mo Vaughan and Robin Ventura were the runners up, but not close.

[PilotMan]

Early FA Season


Free agent day has come and gone, and for the Dodgers, and being young, they got a lot of guys still playing under their young contracts. The following players are back on 1-yr deals:


P Tony McKinney
P Lyle Swepson
P Arthur Rhodes
C Rick Wilkins
P Pat Rapp
P David Peck
P Chris Holt
3B Scott Coolbaugh
P Arbrey Lucas
P Jose Cleto
OF Darren Lewis
OF Carl Everett
IF Dave Rhode
P Andy Pettitte
3B Mike Busch
OF Bill Masse
C Jose Valdez
2B Pete Coachman
IF Craig Shipley
P Rene Arocha
OF Bobby Abreu
OF Michael House
P Joe Grahe


The following players signed one year deals through arbitration:


P Don Robinson


The following players were with the ML club and have filed for free agency:


P Jeffrey Salazar
1B Gary Gaetti
3B Ken Caminiti
SS Ozzie Smith
OF Lloyd Moseby
IF Dickie Thon


The following minor league players of interest signed extensions:


1B Mike Marshall
OF John Elway
P Mike Hartley


The following player was not offered arbitration and became a free agent:


C Hector Villanueva

[PilotMan]

1993 MLB Expansion Draft Preview



This year brings two new baseball teams to the Major Leagues, the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies. The Marlins will join the NL East, while the Rockies head to the West. The expansion draft is where they fill out their rosters.


Here are the highest scouted players who are unprotected by LA prior to the draft:


P Scott Baker – 29, can hit 98mph, he's a 2.5 star player who can fill out a pen.
P Arthur Rhodes – 23, 2.5 star, coming off a good season. Young with room to develop.
P Lyle Swepson – 27, 2.5 star with good stuff, but poor control, hits low 90's.
OF Rod Brewer – 26, 2 star, 4 A-ish OF with a knack for getting on base.
3B Scott Coolbaugh – 26, 2 star, flashes power, but has yet to hit above .200 in limited roles.
P Mike Hartley – 30, 2 star, hasn't pitched in the majors since '84, but still has talent to contribute.
P Arbrey Lucas – 32, 2 star, longtime farmhand with 36 games pitched over last 2 years. Hits low 90's.
P Tony McKinney – 26, 2 star, bullpen staple last year, struggles with control, hit's low 90's.
P Dave Miller – 28, 2 star, started the year in the rotation, but was demoted. Pitched 16 G last season.
P David Peck – 31, 2 star, pitched 67 games for LA over last 2 seasons. Best of career last year.
P Dave White – 30, 2 star, minor league journeyman with a 4.56 ERA in AAA last season.


Other notable names:


OF Jesse Barfield
1B Nick Esasky
1B Mike Marshall
P Jeff Mutis
P Napolean Robinson
IF Craig Shipley
P Jerry Spradlin
OF John Elway

[PilotMan]

1993 Expansion Draft


The very first player, selected by the Florida Marlins is.....White Sox 1B/DH Andres Galarraga!


The first selection for the Colorado Rockies franchise is....Pirates SP, Frank Viola!


Here's how the first ten picks for each team played out.


Florida Marlins


1B Andres Galarraga
OF Reuben Sierra
2B Charlie Hayes
P Tim Belcher
P Bruce Hurst
OF Chito Martinez
P Greg W Harris
OF Kevin Bass
OF Javier Ortiz
P Andy Ashby




Colorado Rockies


P Frank Viola
3B Kevin Seitzer
1B Sam Chavez
2B Mariano Duncan
P Brian Holman
OF Bernard Gilkey
2B Andy Mota
P Kevin Ritz
P Wally Whitehurst
P Tommy Greene


Dodgers (former) players selected in the draft:


(Viola) COL
(Duncan)COL
(BJ Surhoff) FLA
Rod Brewer 18^th round, COL
Arthur Rhodes 35^th round, COL


The loss of Rhodes does nothing to help me feel better. He was just starting to come into his own, and losing him and his reliable, if not inconsistent, but sometimes dominant arm does not help the Dodger pitching situation. I thought we might have escaped, but nope, there we went with the very last pick of the entire draft.

[PilotMan]

1992 First Year Player Draft


Here are the first five rounds of picks for the team.


3B Scott Rolen – (1^st, 5^th overall)
OF Billy McMillon – (3^rd, 76^th overall)
C Julio Zuleta – (3^rd, 79^th overall)
P Billy Wagner - ( 4^th, 108 overall)
OF Willie Romero – (5^th, 136 overall)


I guess out of those five, if they can find a couple of players who can stick around and contribute it'll be ok, but I have to believe that drafting as high as we did, that there should have been more depth there.

Rule 5 Draft

In what has to be the oddest pick in Dodger history. The Dodgers select IF Rick Parker. If this sounds familiar it's because Parker was with the Dodgers last season. He got hurt at the end of training camp and spent well over half the season on the DL. When he did come back be was sent to Albuquerque, but he still managed 5 games for the Dodgers. He left via free agency and signed a deal with the expansion Marlins. Left unprotected, LA drafted him back. Now he has to remain on the main roster all season, or he returns to the Marlins. Given his history, you might think that seems slim, however LA is pretty weak having lost both Caminiti and Smith on the left side of the diamond. Could Parker earn a spot as a super utility guy? Maybe?

[PilotMan]

The 1993 Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Roster


A promising off season and the hope of a team looking to continue moving toward .500 baseball. The Dodgers finished the off season #11 out of 28 teams in change of WAR. The team also is still ranked as the #1 Farm System in baseball. They have the #3, #5, #11 and 7 overall players ranked in the top 100 in the MLB. Here's the rundown of who we have this season.


Pitchers

1. Don Robinson – At 35, Robinson threw over 200 innings last year and came back on an arbitration deal. He's average at best, with average skills and average pitches.

2. Rene Arocha – Now 27, his rookie year could've gone better, but he should still be able to eat some innings and keep games close-ish.

3. Pat Rapp – 25, posted replacement level stats last season and an ERA just below 5. An improvement would be nice. Plans to eat more innings this year.

4. Peter Chapin – 34, In his 4^th season pitching for LA, was the only pitcher with a winning record last year. Posted his best season since 1985 with his 104 ERA+.

5. Chris Holt – 21, one of LA's best pitching prospects split time between AA, AAA, and LA last year. Holt was a first round pick, flashes good control and a solid curve.

RP Bobby Castillo – 37, the LA native comes home on a minor league deal and makes the team. We haven't seen him since '81. He's pitched for 8 teams since then. Posted a 6.53 ERA for the Pirates and Cubs last season.

RP Scott Baker – 29, somewhat reliable, he will hit 98 on the gun and flashes a plus fastball. Still not much more than replacement level numbers however.

RP Edward Lindsey – 33, the 2-time All Star starter has struggled with major injuries the past few years and has been reduced to a spot starter and pen addition. He missed all of last season and only pitched 46 innings this decade. He could be reliable, or not.

RP Todd Worrell – 33, a former All Star, he arrived on an ultra cheap one year deal. Put up career worst numbers last year for Atlanta, but still threw 48 games. His stuff is above average if he can rebound he'll be worth it.

SU – Sergio Del Rosario – 27,. has electric stuff, and a plus plus fastball. Can his 102 on the gun. Injury prone to the max. Limited to 23 games last season. Could close.

SU – Jose Cleto – 24, even more electric stuff, and an even better fastball with a plus change. Can hit 100 on the gun. Is a power pitcher who could close. Injuries limited him to 20 games last year including time in Texas prior to trade.

CL – Bob Patterson – 33, career best numbers last year in saves and ERA. Uses a plus fastball, with good control to set batters up. Fastball registers upper 80's. Lefty who can shut down lefties.


Catchers

Rick Wilkins – 25, young, but looks to have the position locked down for the near future. Needs to improve on his .642 OPS. No other glaring weaknesses, or plusses.

Hector Villanueva – 28, makes over 5 times what Wilkins does to play backup. He's a solid backup, decent defensively, and occasionally hits it out of the park. Posted a higher WAR in 61 games than Wilkins did for the whole season.

First Base

Fred McGriff – 29, He's never won a gold glove, but is always a threat at the plate. The biggest offense weapon in LA since Fred Lynn. Will help fill the seats too as he is very popular.


Second Base

Geronimo Pena – 26, Missed over 50 games last year with injuries. An average fielder with good range. Has plus plus speed and an average bat.


Shortstop

Rick Parker – 30, more of a utility guy. Missed most of last year injured, but hit over .300 in AAA. Rule 5 pickup, looks to start for now. Probably a liability with the bat, but posseses good speed.


Third Base

Steve Buechele – 31, singed on a minor league deal. Was a starter in KC last year. Hit 14 HR's. Committed only 9 errors last year with a +5.9 ZR. Could play 2B. Average everywhere else. Could be an upgrade over Caminiti.


Scott Coolbaugh – 26, will cover first and short too. A big swing and hit or miss kind of guy. Average in the field. Has yet to see major success beyond a reserve role.


Dave Hansen – 24, used as a pinch hitter all season last year, he doesn't figure anywhere else on the depth chart. Good eye to make a pitcher work, average in the field, but a below average contact hitter.


Outfield


Rickey Henderson – 34, the vet on the squad and team MVP last year. Should benefit greatly from McGriff. Plus Plus speed, and a great eye. Makes solid contact with occasional power. Tends to be a clubhouse distraction however.

Lee Stevens – 25, the odd man out after McGriff came. Looks to be a primary backup at first, and all 3 outfield positions. An improved and solid defender, hit 44 doubles last year and is still developing his power.

Darren Lewis – 25, plus plus speed that can rival Henderson's. He's a very good defender covering the most space of anyone else. His numbers dropped some last year, but he's still got a good eye, and makes decent contact.

Carl Everett – 21, made a big splash after his call up, missed time with injuries however. Plus plus speed, can play all three outfield positions. Still a bit of an unknown with the bat. Has good potential, but for now it's unfulfilled.

Darryl Boston – 30, one of the few guys making over a million a season, he had a massive drop in performance and production. Still has above average speed, and average power, his defense isn't up to par, and his impatience at the plate can cost him.


Who's Out


P Joe Grahe – 25, Grahe suffered yet another major arm injury in spring training and won't be back until the fall.


P Lyle Swepson – 27, couldn't break in with the new arms, and despite being a reliable arm last year. If he clears waivers he could be back sometime this year.


P David Peck – 31, another heavily used guy from last year who didn't make it. Mostly a filler role here and there, may find it difficult to continue his Major League career in LA if he clears waivers.


2B Dave Rhode – 28, didn't make the main club and has more competition for the utility role than previous years. Rhode could get the call back. Only played 11 games last year, and you'd have to think it might be even less this year.


Who's In the Minors


3B Mike Busch – 24, A corner infielder who flashes a big bat. The acquisition of McGriff makes his ML tenure in LA unlikely. He could be called on if injuries mount.


1B Mike Marshall – 33, Last ML at bat was in '91. Plays the same as Stevens, but with less of everything. Still trying to keep the dream alive.


OF Jesse Barfield – 33, Just like Marshall, he still wants that shot. Hit 21 HR's in Albuquerque last year. Still has a cannon arm and good defense. You never know with this guy.


P Andy Pettitte – 20, pitched enough innings last year to get off the top prospects list. Somehow didn't make the ML team, despite being the most talented pitcher in the organization. Doesn't figure to be in the minors long.


P Matt Young – 34, Has 99 career wins, could fill in as a left/spot starter. Has good life on his fastball. Threw only 28 innings last season. Recently recovered from a partially torn UCL.


P Tom Bolton – 30, a Red Sox staple, signed a minor league deal this offseason. Not a starter any longer, this lefty should see action if someone like Lindsey can't stay healthy.


P Tony McKinney – 27, used a lot last season he starts the year in the minors. His stuff may not be quite good enough, but he still has fair control and decent movement on his pitches. Boasts a career WAR of -1.7.


Down On the Farm – Top Prospects


OF Richard Hildalgo (#3 ML, #1 Team) – 17, looks like a possible, legit, 5-tool player. Hit .257/.362/.324 in rookie ball last season. Starts the year in Rookie once again.


OF Bobby Abreu (#5 ML, #2 Team) – 19, tore through A ball last season. Lead Bakersfield to the title, and was runner up for the California League MVP. Won the Silver Slugger in the California League AND in the Florida League for RF. Playing A ball again for now.


3B Scott Rolen (#11 ML, #3 Team) – 18, first round pick from this season, starts his career in Rookie ball.


P Chris Holt (#36 ML, #4 Team) – 21, former first rounder starts the year in the Majors. Rose up from AA last season. Pitched well in 3 ML appearances. Might stick or might give way to Pettitte sooner or later.


P Shawn Estes (#40 ML, #5 Team) – 20, former first rounder has struggled to make progress. Starts in Rookie again after posting a 5+ ERA there last season. High hopes still exist for this lefty.


C Raul Rodarte (#72 ML, #6 Team) – 22, former first rounder was a catching prospect, however, he is developing at all the infield positions and center too. A good eye, quick and moved up from A to AA last year.


OF Pedro Valdes (#82 MLB, #7 Team) – 19, another first rounder. Has spent 2 years in Rookie ball and starts there again. Has put up good numbers though, look for him to move up this year.


P Ismael Valdez (#96 MLB, #8 Team) – 19, former 2^nd round pick, played Rookie and Short A last year and starts the year in AA. Needs to work on his control, but possesses a solid curve among his 4 pitches.

[PilotMan]

Both Swepson and Peck were claimed off of waivers so we bid them a fond farewell.


In the second game of the year, the Dodgers saw, not one, not two, but three pitchers leave the game early with injuries. Lindsey, Del Rosario and Baker. All three have issues. Only DR will miss any significant time right now.


Tom Bolton was called up to take his spot. No surprise there.


Not a good start to the season. We open against the expansion Marlins and get swept. Not only that, but swept with three straight walk off hits. One in extra innings. McGriff left so many guys on base and had zero RBI's. Geronimo Pena hit 3 dingers. He only had 4 all of last year. Great start guys. Way to get me excited for the year. Sheesh.


Fred McGriff took 56 at bats to hit his first homerun. It was off of this young pitcher named Pedro Martinez. It was the first time he'd seen him. It solidified our 3^rd win of the year. LA is off to a roaring 3-10 start.

[PilotMan]

April 1993

The more things change the more they stay the same. A fans life is never easy. We cheered hard for the boys in blue, we cheered hard for our new MVP first basemen and we were regarded with an 8-16 5th place record. Our bullpen got lit up in April like nobody's business. The starters were surprisingly efficient.

McGriff? Oh, McGriff....he had a slash line of .202/.288/.283. He came to bat 99 times, hit 1 HR, and had 13 RBI's. It's no secret that the Dodgers manager loves to run. He loves guys who can run, and he loves making guys run. McGriff has a career high of 6 stolen bases. He finished April with 3. Now, he has a lot of speed all around him in the lineup, so sometimes he has to run, but even still, that's a lot of running. Other than that, I would say, that this was a failure of a month for LA.

Team HR leaders are Henderson and Geronimo Pena (who you'll remember hit 3 in the first 2 games) with .... three. It's not been pretty.

We've already had injuries to deal with. The big one is Jose Cleto, who was started off really struggling with an 11.81 ERA in 4 games. He was basically ineffective. He tore his meniscus and at best he's back after the trade deadline. Edward Lindsey is lost for 6 weeks with more elbow problems. Don Robinson is also experiencing some elbow issues.

Chris Holt pitched well enough in 4 starts in April, but he was just shipped to Albuquerque and Pettitte was called up for his first work this year.

The only real bright spot happened after another injury. Rick Parker, who missed a lot of time last year, missed most of April straight away. In his place LA called up top SS prospect Denny Hocking from AA San Antonio. Hocking posted a monthly slash of .298/.397/.439, but his fielding has been weak. In one game, between Hocking and Pena, they committed 5 errors.

Bad month, but not the worst.

[PilotMan]

May 1993

LA improved with a nice little run in the middle end of the month to salvage what could have been another terrible month. However, a team that was supposed to finish with around 81 wins finds themselves flailing. LA posted an 11-14 record in May and a few things became apparent.

This team is dead last in nearly every offensive category in the National League. They are first in steals. A lineup that features Ricky Henderson and Fred McGriff should not be dead last in OBP, AVG, R, OPS, WAR, HR. It's god awful right now. I would say it shouldn't stay like that. But...Henderson posted a .227/.352/.318 slash line, but stole 12 bases. McGriff rebounded to go with a .291/.410/.547 hitting 6 HR's. So there is some hope there. Carl Everett, even at 22, is not looking like he's able to recapture some of that magic he displayed last year. His May was an awful, .207/.255/.283 and he's still looking for his first career dinger. In fact, I think the only person who is outperforming their career numbers is Denny Hocking, and that's only because he's a rookie. Hocking batted .226 in May.

The other shocker is that the pitching staff is throwing darts right now. And just like hitting, with a rotation of Pat Rapp, Don Robinson, Rene Arocha, Peter Chapin, and the recently called up Andy Pettitte, there's not a lot of, deep, anchor talent there that can simply shut people down.

Only Arocha has an ERA over 4 (4.15). Chapin is sub 3 (2.83), and Rapp leads the team in K's (60) in 81 innings. In fact, starter ERA is 4th in the NL, and despite the incredibly awful start the bullpen has had, they have rebounded to 10th, while dealing with major injuries throughout. Edward Lindsey is rehabbing right now in AAA, Joe Grahe probably doesn't come back until July. Same with Jose Cleto.

Ricky is leading the NL in steals (27). Geronimo Pena is up there with 18, while Everett is nearly leading in CS with 11.


Also, here's a cheat into early June:

In a series against the Braves early on, the Dodgers center fielder, Darren Lewis was the man to break up two(!) perfect games leading off the 7th inning. In back to back games, Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine took perfecto's into the 7th, only to have Lewis break them both up with base hits. That's a solid baseball oddity. It looked like LA was going to completely roll over in both games. I mean, we lost them both, but at least we got a couple hits!

[CraigSca]

Love seeing this again. Well done!

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Love seeing this again. Well done!

Thanks! It's really encouraging when there's someone else with a vested interest in what's going on in the world. I'll have a June update coming here soon.

[PilotMan]

June 1993


So many injuries this month. This team has never had to endure a stretch like this in the 10+ years we've been following them. This season has been horrible and it's not like there's a plethora of talent to carry the load either. We're talking, guys who a filling a role, getting hurt, and guys who shouldn't be filling a role stepping in, or in some cases, getting hurt too.


We've seen the long injuries to talented guys like Grahe, Cleto, DelRosario, and Lindsey, but then again, these guys have had long, recent histories of injury problems so they shouldn't be surprising either. This month we added shoulder surgery for 38-yr old, journeyman reliever, Bobby Castillo (15g, 4.58 ERA), and even more recently, closer Bob Patterson (3-4, 11S, 7.23 ERA) for a month too. Those losses have lead to guys like 26yr old, former first rounder in 1987, Jerry Spradlin, 31yr old, career minor leaguer, Mike Hartley, who hadn't made a major league roster in 9 years, and last pitched more than one inning at the major league level back in his rookie year of '82 with the Cardinals, to get the call. Other guys like Tom Bolton, Tony McKinney, and Scott Baker to take more turns, when they likely would have been bypassed. Recently, Rickey left the game after a collision at first base. The National League's leading base stealer, and Dodger's only real hope to make an All Star game based on stats looked to be lost. Henderson had a small tear in his shoulder, and is gone until after the break now. Geronimo Pena was lost with an abdominal strain, that moves Buechele to second and not one week into his replacement gig, Scott Coolbaugh strained a hammy and he was off to the DL. LA has tried 3 different guys over there since; Dave Hansen (who was sent down eventually), Jose Oliva (who they tried to get rid of), and now are going with 21yr old prospect, and former 4^th round pick, Shane Andrews, who was called up from AA to make his major league debut. I mean, at least he was hitting .303 with 11 HR's in San Antonio.


Speaking of injuries in the world. Tom Henke at 35, announced his retirement from baseball after damage and swelling in his shoulder wouldn't allow him to throw a baseball any longer. Henke had been the 12^th pick of the expansion Colorado Rockies, but never threw a pitch for them. An All Star in '88 and Rolaids Reliever of the Year the same year, he was best known as the closer for the Pirates and Astros. Helping the Astros win the title in '91. He posted 230 career saves, in 600 games with a career ERA of 3.29.


With 10 days left in the month relievers Tony McKinney and Jerry Spradlin were both designated and placed on waivers. Getting the call up is #8 Dodgers prospect Ismael Valdez, who at 19, was only recently promoted to AAA. Also getting called up is #18 prospect Terrell Berthau, who also started the season in AA. Both men saw action on their call up day in an 11-0 blowout loss to the Astros. They combined for 5.1 innings, 7 hits allowed, 4 ER, 6 K's. Valdez will never, ever live down giving up his first HR of his career. The batter? El Presidente, Dennis Martinez, who at 38, had never hit one in over 385 at bats, and has a career SLG of .186.


Berthau was then optioned the next day and Ron Blazier was given his 3^rd call to the club. At 21, Blazier has never pitched below AAA. He's posted a career 2.95 ERA in 21 innings with 16 K's and a 1.03 WHIP. He was an 8^th round pick by the club in 1990. At Albuquerque this season, he's 5-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 11 starts.


And it is McKinney that is claimed as he heads to division rival San Francisco Giants. Spradlin heads to Albuquerque. Blazier threw a scoreless inning in an Astros game and was designated and placed on waivers for another new arm. This time for Shigeki Taguchi. Taguchi (23), a southpaw, is considered a decent prospect, in the kind of player to be named later kind of way. He was closing at AA San Antonio with 6 saves, and a 1.56 WHIP. He throws a low to mid 90's fastball and a curve.


We'll have the team update at the All Star break in about 10 days.

[PilotMan]

Boy that took a long time to get to. Just got playing other stuff. Without further ado, it's the break.

1993 All Star Break and mid season review


Let me start as a fan by saying that the only even semi-interesting thing that has been good for a Dodgers fan this year has been the All Star Future's game. LA had 4 of 9 starters on the NL roster. Raul Rodarte, Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen and Richard Hildalgo were all featured with Rolen and Hidalgo both getting two hits each, while Rodarte struck out 4 times.


No LA players were selected for the All Star game. Kind of sad, but we deserve it. Of course, former Dodger, Ken Caminti is blasting the ball in NY for the Mets, made the All Star team and is starting at third after posting a slash line of .352/.388/.547 with 12 HRs. He would have been a huge part of our offense. Certainly would be better than his replacement Steve Buschele.


So let's take a look where LA is at this point in the year. For a team that was expected to finish at least somewhat close to .500, this isn't it. Last place in the West, 31-55, and 24.5 games behind the West leading Houston Astros. Even the expansion Rockies are ahead of us by 4 games.


The biggest issue with LA has been the offense. Currently last in the NL in every single offensive category. Every. Single. One. Except steals, and we lead in that. Imagine if we had some guys who could actually get on base! Rickey Henderson leads all with 28, followed by Denny Hocking and Darren Lewis with 21 each. Poor Fred McGriff has had to steal so much he's already got a career high 8 halfway through the season (he's only been caught once; loving those double steals!)


Where the hitting is, there is no way the pitching can do anything. The team is 8th in runs against, and the starters are 5th in the NL with a 3.69. Meanwhile, the bullpen is god awful, 12th with a 5.51 ERA. The defense is helping out well enough, FIP is 10th, and def efficiency and Zone Ratings are 5th.


Of the guys who are hitting (we use that term loosely around here), it's the currently injured Rickey Henderson leading the way. That's not a shocker, he was having a pretty decent season so far. He's slashing .280/.399/.383 with a 111 OPS+ and all his steals. His power is way under last season though, as he only has 4 on the year (he's been double digits the last 3). Next up is The Crime Dog, Fred McGriff. What a terrible start for a player with such high hopes. Slashing .252/.332/.420 with a team high 14 HR's and an OPS+ of 100 his career OPS+ is 149. He's well on pace for the worst season of his career. There's young prospect Carl Everett (.272/.322/.404; 93); Denny Hocking (.260/.321/.366; 83) and Darren Lewis (.266/.303/.348; 74) and it goes down hill from there. We won't even talk about how bad Daryl Boston, Steve Buschele or Lee Stevens are doing. This team sucks.


The pitching staff has been not awful, until you get to the bullpen, and then it depends on what day. With so little run support it's hard to imagine anyone doing anything good, but shock of shocks, that Rene Arocha leads the team with a 9-9 record; 125 IP, a 3.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 118 ERA+. Next guy up is high prospect Pat Rapp (3-11; 3.55, 114 IP, 1.35 WHIP and 124 ERA+). Peter Chapin (2-4; 3.39, 98.1; 1.26 and 130) is having the best year of his career despite his 2.3 RS/G. Rapp leads with 13 QS, and Arocha and Chapin are tied with 12 each. Andy Pettitte is getting 3.4 RS/G to lead the team, while poor Don Robinson is only getting 2.0.

The Bullpen. Good grief, it's bad. Losing closer Bob Patterson didn't hurt that bad. Patterson has blown 4 saves, and even though he's been better lately, his 6.86 ERA isn't charming anyone. Of the bullpen, it's been Tom Bolton getting the most work. He's pitched in 27 games, 36 innings, has a 6.00 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP and .248 avg. We'll bypass most of the pen. These guys are struggling. But there has been one bright and shining spot and that is the development of Sergio Del Rosario. Del Rosario has even gotten a couple starts out of the pen, but he's been the most reliable and dominant. Known for having some control issues he has only 5 walks against his 35 K's. His 3.64 ERA is best in the pen and so is his 0.98 WHIP. It's unknown if he's going to be the next starter, or closer. His problem is, and always will be his reliability. He's missed a month this year already with back and arm issues.


That brings us to injuries, and it sure feels like LA has dealt with more than our fair share. Rickey should be back in a couple weeks, and so should back end bullpen guy, Jose Cleto. Old guy Bobby Castillo will be back too, but not sure we're missing him that much.


It's going to be a long second half in LA. This team isn't going to make any waves, and I don't expect any major moves one way or the other. We need to see the guys we have start to do something like hit! I think there is more talent here, and they are just underperforming. It's the curse of LA.


Juan Gonzalez (KC) beat out Reds slugger Jose Canseco to win the HR Derby.


The All Star game was even held in LA. What a disgrace. The NL All Stars came from behind 4-0 to take home a 7-5 win. David Justice hit a double and a HR. The AL saddled Rod Beck with the loss and all seven runs.


Looking at the overall picture in ML baseball here's what we see.


The NL West is a two team race between the Astros and Braves who are 4.5 back. No other team is above .500.


The NL East is lead by the Mets and Phillies who are tied for the lead. The Pirates in 3rd are 10 games back.


In the AL West it tighter. The White Sox lead by 3.5 over the Twins, 4.5 over the Rangers, and even the last place Royals are only 11 back.


The AL East features the best team in baseball. It's the New York Yankees. Their 61-26 record and 14.5 game lead over the Orioles (?!) should keep them the AL East Champs this year. Carlos Baerga is hitting .411 at the break. John Olerun is hitting .395 and as a team they are hitting .295. They are a modern day baseball team. One other interesting thing is the bullpen in NY. It's all old guys who have been there and done that. Rodger McDowell (32), Jeff Reardon (37), Lee Smith (35), Randy Myers (30), Jeff Montgomery (31), and Storm Davis (31).


The Dodgers are tied with the Expos for the worst record in baseball. I am so ready to turn the page.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

One other interesting thing is the bullpen in NY. It's all old guys who have been there and done that. Rodger McDowell (32), Jeff Reardon (37), Lee Smith (35), Randy Myers (30), Jeff Montgomery (31), and Storm Davis (31).
.

There's gotta be a nickname that would coined because of this. Glad to see you back to the grind!

[PilotMan]

LA makes their first trade of the year as we find ourselves a couple weeks from the deadline. Leaving is reliable starter Peter Chapin. Chapin pitched for LA for 4 years, going 28-41 with a 4.13 ERA and a 91 ERA+. He resurrected his career in LA. After a big rookie year with the White Sox back in '85, he struggled to stay up in the majors until he was traded to LA. He was a workhorse who started 105 games. Leaving with Chapin will be minor league prospect Rico Beltran. A former 10th round pick in 1990, Beltran pitched as high as AA this season. On the year, in 9 starts, he was 3-2, with a 3.17 ERA. The lefty showed a good low 90's fastball with an above average forkball to go with his slider and changeup. They will be going to the Florida Marlins and coming to LA is utility man Charlie Montoyo. Montoyo was selected in the 24th round of the expansion draft, and previously had been a 4th round pick by the Phillies in 1986. He play's all the infield positions ok, and hasn't started until this season. On the year he's hitting .266 with a .398 OPB and 100 OPS+. He play or sit, but I would hope the team would trade for players who start when they are trading a starter like Chapin. Montoyo looks like he will replace Denny Hocking at SS and Hocking will go to the bench.


On July 20th, the Dodgers got a 3 hit and solo-homer from Carl Everett, five innings from Sergio DelRosario, and 4 scoreless innings from the bullpen to stop the Philadelphia Phillies and their 18 game win streak. The Phillies have vaulted to the top of the NL East behind speed of Otis Nixon (44 SB), the batting of Roberto Alomar (.396) and the power of Matt Williams (26 HR's). The Phillies also feature the the brother combination of Greg (13-7) and Mike (24 S) Maddux.


Ricky Henderson made his return from injury on the 26th with a big 3-5, double and HR (5) game against the Giants to run the Dodgers win streak to 4. LA is 9-3 since the break. Fred McGriff has powered the Dodgers July run. We are no longer the cellar dwellars of the West. We're three full games up on the Rockies now with the Reds five ahead.


A sweep of the Giants has run the Dodger win streak to 6, which has to be the longest win streak in at least two years. In the 10 games since Montoyo has joined LA, he's slashing .308/.400/.436. Could he be the spark that the offense needed? I know that McGriff has had a good month, and getting Rickey back is crucial. The rest of the team needs to keep going too. The current Dodger bullpen only has one pitcher with an ERA below 5.00 (Todd Worrell, 3.34) and the starting rotation only has one pitcher with an ERA over 4.00 (Don Robinson, 4.39).


LA promoted injury prone Sergio DelRosario to the rotation with Chapin out the door. He's still building his endurance, throws triple digits, and is trying to develop a circle change as part of his repetoire. His four starts for LA are the first starts in his career, which dates back to '87 and 109 games of relief (20 this season).


The win streak was stopped at 7 on July 30th and the way it was done was ugly. Playing the Cubbies, LA jumped out with 6 in the first, and another pair in the 2nd and another pair in the 5th. Pat Rapp had been staked to a 10 run lead. He ran into big trouble in the 5th and and needed Valdez to get him out after the Cubs scored 6 thanks to two doubles, two triples, and a Mariano Duncan HR. They would come again with 3 more in the 6th to cut it down to a one run lead and all of LA fandom knew how this was going to end. LA squandered multiple chances to get on the board again but the Cubbie bullpen turned stout. It came down to closers in the 9th with the Cubs Fassero striking out the side. Bob Patterson came on and struck out the first batter before C Bret Mayne knocked a single to put the tying run on. Up next was former Dodger, Duncan one more time, and he teed off with a 2-run shot over the left field wall (2nd of the game, 4th on the season) to send the Cubs home as winners. Patterson blows his 5th save, gets his 5th loss and LA, despite a 10-0 lead, loses. Mercy please.


Willie McGee (Reds) has notched the 2000th hit of his career. The 3-time All Star hit 1086 of them for the Cardinals, who he left after the '88 season.


A flurry of trades at the deadline with the biggest for Dodger fans being the trade of Orel Hershiser from the Royals. Hershiser has played his whole career for the Royals after bring traded by the Dodgers back in '83 with Floyd Banniser for Roy Smalley. He's made over 5.5M in his career and now he will be heading back to SoCal......but not to LA. Instead he goes to the Angels. The Royals will get 28yr old rookie Jack Smith (.291/15/51) and minor leaguer Mike Cantu, a former 19th round pick playing A ball.


The other big deal was between the Padres and Rockies. A rare intra- divisional trade that was actually two trades together, but as a single deal it's impressive. The Rockies add 2B Carlos Garcia (.287/7/47), 24yr old minor leaguer Ray Harvey (12th round, A Ball), 20yr old minor leaguer Duane Singleton (14th rounder, Rookie ball), and 23yr old minor leaguer Rob Butler (6th round, A ball). The Padres will get SS Walt Weiss (.273/1/32) and pitchers Wally Whitehurst (7-8, 4.76) and Kent Bottenfield (2-1, 7.54).


Former Dodger, former ace, and now journeyman starter Dave Stewart (7-7, 5.59) was shipped with cash and minor leaguer Troy Percival (48th round, A ball) to the Red Sox, for young Gold Glover OF Junior Felix (.268/15/55).

[PilotMan]

July to August 1993


We're gonna start this off by saying that Rene Arocha was selected National League Pitcher of the Month. He was 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA. He made 6 quality starts, and got 4.7 RS/G. This is the first player of the Month for the Dodgers in years. This is kind of a big deal.


LA also put together the best month of the year in July. We had out long winning streak and went 15-11 for the month. LA currently sits at 43-59, 22 games behind the Astros. We're in 5th place in the West, five games ahead of the Rockies and three behind the Reds for 4th.


Dodgers #3 prospect (#11 Overall) Scott Rolen was lost for the rest of the year with Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms. He was batting .387/.461/.595 with Rookie team, Yakima.


Fred McGriff had a great month. Like I said before he found his swing. He slashed .330/.393/.631 with 9 HR's and 25 RBI's. Now all we need is a couple more guys to find their swings!


Steve Buschele continues to be an embarrassment. His OPS+ of 67 was the lowest on the team in July and he slashed .218/.320/.299 with 0 HR and 11 RBI.


The Phillies Matt Williams hit for the cycle against the Pirates. Williams has 32 HR's and 102 RBI's on the year.


The Sporting News has the Dodgers ranked 16th in the ML Baseball Power Rankings. The surging Dodgers are ahead of the Giants, Marlins, Reds, Expos, Rockies and Brewers in the NL.


LA has lost C Hector Villanueva the same way he was aquired, via waivers. Villanueva played 183 games over 3 seasons for LA. The most of any club he's played for. He heads to Chicago to play for the Cubs. He brought us some reliable power off the bench and an occasional spark on offense. He was not playing well this year, hitting .141 in his 34 games played. His roster spot looks to be filled by Jose Valdez, a young prospect who is currently in his second stint with the club.


The career of Gary Redus might also be running out of time. Redus has been on a roster for 11 years, and even though his best year was back in '83 when he stole 63 bases, he had been playing well at AAA Albuquerque. Redus was batting .309/.396/.422 with 11 steals. It appears that after his call to the Dodgers, he refused his assignment after he cleared waivers and the team gave him his release. Best wishes to you Gary Redus.


Midway through August and LA has been playing above .500 ball STILL! We now have 3 players in double digits for home runs. That's a huge accomplishment for this late in the year. While still in last in every single offensive category, we're still pitching better and better and it's helping us get some W's. LA swept the Padres and slipped past the Padres for 5th place in the West, passing up the Reds. The Padres are only 2.5 games in front of us now. Third in the West is the best we can hope for this year. It's all down the Braves and Astros now.


The Dodgers lost their top bullpen arm after Todd Worrell left a game early. It's a shoulder strain, possible rotator cuff damage, but for now he's expected to return later this year. Andy Pettitte was recalled to fill the spot on the roster.


Rough series for LA against the Braves. We were swept by the Braves on the road with game scores of 7-1, 1-0, and 10-0. That last game saw Cy Young Shoo-in Randy Johnson mow us down. He picked up his 19th win of the season, struck out 14 and NO HIT THE DODGERS. I know it's not that hard with this team, but this is the 2nd time the Dodgers have been no-hit in this dynasty. I've literally been expecting it all year long. This is Johnson's 2nd career no-no. It was the top pitching performance to date in baseball this season. Johnson now owns 5 of the top 25 pitching performances on the year. Only the Astros Danny Darwin with his no-hitter and one-hitter is the only other pitcher with his name on the list twice. His last one was in 1990 against the Pirates. We've disappeared below the Reds again. So much for that little rally.


Edward Lindsey, 2-time All Star with the Mets, 20 game winner, 2-time MLB Champion, who had three pretty good seasons before his body started falling apart, has to be done. He can't stay healthy to save his season. 1988 was the first year that he started experiencing injuries, as he missed time with three different injuries that year. He lost three months with three other injuries in '89. Needed reconstructive surgery on his elbow in 1990 after an April injury. He made it to the All Star break in '91 until his third injury, this one to his shoulder, ended his season. He missed all of '92 with his 2nd elbow surgery that happened at the end of spring training. This year he has had NINE separate injuries to his back and arm. Today his season mercifully came to it's end. This time to a torn triceps muscle. I feel bad for him, and at one point he was the most dangerous pitcher in baseball, but at the age of 34, he has to consider calling it quits.


Looks like we're going to lose Rickey for a while. he left the game today with something and we still don't know the extent of it. Damn. Can't buy an offense with this team.

[PilotMan]

End of August 1993


Ok, so we started good, and then remembered who the hell we were. We played August to a record of 13-15, the 2nd best month of the year. Overall, that puts us at 56-74 and 5th place in the NL West. We're not quite mathematically eliminated but it's really close. The Astros are leading us by 28 games. The Padres are 6 in front of us, and the Reds are 4 behind.


We need some good news, so let's discuss the pitching that we saw in LA in July. Bob Patterson came back from his injury and pitched 8 games, 9.1 scoreless innings, walked 2, struck out 11, and went 2-0 with 5 saves. The bullpen got some much needed stability. Both Ismael Valdez and Andy Pettitte threw over 20 innings, had sub 1.00 WHIP's, sub 2.50 ERA's. Pettitte had a OAVG of .163, while Valdez was .157. How's that for some young talent?


Young hard thrower Jose Cleto finally returned from his injury and gave us some decent innings. He will be needed to lock the back end down in front of Patterson. And overall, our starters were solid (well, except for Pat Rapp, who posted a 5.58 ERA and opponents his .302 against him.) Tom Bolton was terrible. Batters hit a crazy .348 off of him, and he posted a 6.55 ERA. Scott Baker had a rough month too. His ERA was 6.94, but batters only hit .209 against him. He's still trying to figure that one out.


Batters.......suck. LA.....still dead last in all offensive categories. Never thought that would be the case with the lineup that we started the year with. Fred McGriff is our player of the month. The Crime Dog, on the heels of a big July, kept it up in August with 8 more dingers, while slashing .290/.392/.570 and a team leading 154 OPS+. He was also forced to attempt 5 more steals (and was good for 3.)Carl Everett was next with a 112, and Rickey was third with a 104. They were the ONLY regulars over 100 for the month. That is so awful, but at least these guys tried.


How bad? Lee Stevens was 2nd on the team in HR's with 3. Darren Lewis was AWFUL, .198/.253/.233/31 OPS+. Charlie Montoyo was AWFUL, .180/.278/.240/40. Steve Buschele was AWFUL, .204/.250/.312/49. Geronimo Pena? AWFUL, .190/.274/.298/53.


For real. How does this team expect to have any sort of game? We are losing Henderson again. Still no update.


The end of August brings us one thing to look forward to, and that is roster expansion. Here's the rundown of the new faces on the roster.


C Rob Natal (27); played in 12 games for LA this year, batting .146. Hit .354 in 32 games in Albuquerque.


1B Larry Sutton (23) #13 LA Prospect; played in 38 games for LA this year, batting .226. Batted .333 in 57 games in Albuquerque.


1B/3B Shane Andrews (22); played 21 games for LA, batted .136. Hit 280/13/61 for AA San Antonio.


3B Dave Hansen (24); played in 9 games for LA, hit .208. Hit .200 in 33 in Albuquerque, and .298 in 49 at San Antonio.


3B Mike Busch (25) #15 LA Prospect; hit .333/19/99 this year for Albuquerque. Debuted last year.


SS Jose Oliva (22); hit .250 in 19 games for LA. .285 in 39 for Albuquerque.


SS Mike Mordecai (25); hit .329/5/50 at Albuquerque this year. This is his first time in The Show.


OF Bill Masse (27); played in 23 games for LA, batting .259. Batted .307 at Albuquerque.


RP Joe Grahe (26); missed most of the year with a shoulder injury.


SP Chris Holt (21) #4 LA Prospect; 0-1, 3.92 in 4 games for LA. 11-6, 3.89 for Albuquerque.

[PilotMan]

We lost Rickey for the rest of the year. He's down with a hamstring. Bummer. Lee Stevens will resume his role in left. He's started 27 in left this year while Henderson was out the first time.


I forgot to run down the divisional races in my recap.


Barry Bonds, at the tender age of 29, has hit the 300th home run of his career.


RP Scott Baker was lost for the rest of the season with a forearm strain. Baker threw a career high 47 games for the Dodgers this year. Not sure the team will miss his 6.40 ERA.


On September 5th the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs.


The Yankees are 24.5 games in front of the Orioles with a magic number of 3. In last, the Brewers, the worst team in baseball, are 49.5 games back with a month to play.


In the West, the White Sox are in a fight with the A's (3GB) and the Twins (5.5GB).


The NL East sees a big fight between the Phillies and Mets (.5GB).


In the West it's the Astros who are 7.5 in front of the Braves.


The season just keeps getting better for the Dodgers. In typical Dodger fashion against the Braves, we get good pitching from Don Robinson, but a couple homers and we're down in the 9th. LA gets a game tying HR from Carl Everett to tie it up. Patterson gives up his own dinger in the 10th, and Geronimo Pena gets it back with his own in the 10th to keep it going. Patterson locks down the 11th and LA manages to get the bases loaded in the 11th. Rob Natal comes up and hits a slow roller. Natal is a catcher, he can't run, but he busts his ass and legs out the single to walk off the win for LA. Natal is laying on the ground writhing in pain after he's called safe. Turns out, he awkwardly stepped on first and twisted his ankle. Check that....he broke his ankle, and he's done for the season.


LA loses McGriff to a broken rib after getting into a collision at second base. In the same game, Braves rookie IF Russ Davis made his ML debut. He was hit by a pitch and left the game with a potentially serious injury. McGriff probably won't be done for the year, but it'll be close, and it won't really matter in the end. Just another guy down who actually hits.


The next time LA saw Randy Johnson we didn't get our first hit until the 4th inning. That means that against LA, Johnson threw 12 straight no-hit innings. He also notched his 300th K of the year in that game.


The Yankees pick up win number 99, and become the first team to clinch their division. No other team is even close to a 10 game magic number. The O's are 25.5 back in 2nd place.


More bad news on the injury front for LA. Rene Arocha, the hands down, workhorse stopper on the team is done for the year. Shoulder pain forced him from a game and after the evaluation it was determined that he'd torn his rotator cuff. Post surgery, he's not expected to be back until possibly June next year. Just terrible news for the team.


Also lost, Jose Cleto again hits the IL after spraining his ankle coming off the mound poorly while making a defensive play. Don Robinson also left a game early, but his diagnosis was better, and no trip to the IL was needed. Todd Worrell has returned to take Cleto's place as the set up man. LA has also called up Shigeki Taguchi who posted a 2.31 ERA and 13 saves at AA San Antonio. So far, over 3 games, he's allowed one hit, while striking out five.


With Lee Stevens getting game time starting in place of Henderson, LA is using Mike Busch at first.


I gotta say, this iteration of the LA lineup is awful. No McGriff, no Henderson. No use.


The Houston Astros become the second team to clinch their division as they win the NL West. The Braves were the only team that could compete, but they find themselves 13.5 games back now.


Over in the AL West, the White Sox are 5.5 up on the A's, with a magic number of 9 and in the NL East, it's the Phillies who are up 5 on the Mets, and their magic number is 9.


If the White Sox take the West, they will have a chance to bet the Yankees. Both teams have been the AL rep the past 3 seasons.


Over in the NL, the last time it wasn't the Mets, Phillies, or Astros in the World Series, it was 1986. That's amazing. The NL has won five of the last 6 World Series'.


Major League veteran Nick Esasky announced his retirement from baseball today. He was only 33 and had spent the last three seasons trying to make the majors with the Dodgers. His last ML game came in 1990 with the Orioles. He played this season in Bakersfield at the Dodgers A level club, where he batted .271 with 10 HR's and did a perfectly respectable job for a guy over 30 in A ball. Esasky made the All Star team in 1986 with the Reds. He spent the majority of his career in Cincinnati and he retires with 203. He lead the majors in strikeouts in 1984 with 168 and lead the majors in RBI's in 1988 with 114. He finished 3rd in the 1982 ROY voting and earned over 2.7 million in his 9 year professional career.


Fred McGriff has returned from his injury with three days left in the season. Don't think it'll matter much.


The White Sox seal up the AL West and in the NL East, the Phillies have held on to their lead, although it's down to 2 games, with 3 to play. Both the Mets and Phillies have over 100 wins on the year. Two very good teams.


The regular season is over. I'm going to do a write up on the Dodgers season, because there's a number of somewhat interesting storylines with the team, despite how bad they are. Then a quick preview of the LCS teams and WS before we close the book on 1993.

[PilotMan]

Last year was a quiet year for OOTP gaming for me, but this game still lives. I'm coming to the end of 1994 now, and while the team isn't good, they are above .500 for the first time in years. We're leading the very, very weak West, and look to be heading to the playoffs for the first time in a long time.

Having said that, we've endured a thirty something inning scoreless streak and currently Rickey Henderson, who has missed substantial time with injuries this year is mired in an 0-29 streak in the last 9 games. {now 0-32 in 10} {0-36 in 11. wow}

We've lost Andy Pettitte to a shoulder injury, same with John Franco, who just came back from a major injury, Ismael Valdez was lost to a long term injury and aside from Fred McGriff, there is no power on this team at all.

The youngsters continue to improve, Carl Everett has been sidelined by 20 yr old Bobby Abreu in his rookie year, and the farm system has the deepest crop of talent in the majors.

If you happen to read this and have any interest, give me something you'd like to know about. I love digging into the storylines of the league.

[PilotMan]

So I wanted to give one huge update here on the team. I've gone through and written up the LA 40-man roster as it currently stands. Some of the younger top prospects still aren't on the 40 man, but this should give you a great idea of how the team looks at this point in 1994.

Be sure to check out the very first pick by the Dodgers when this Dynasty started back in 1982!! He's on the team now!

Terrell Berthau; 23, Rookie, 1990, 24th round LA
Real life never made it above rookie ball


13-6, 3.46 ERA 38g/19gs 1.25 WHIP ERA+ 122


He's emerged as the best pitcher this year, but he more or less backed into it.


Chris Holt; 22, 3rd year, 1991, 1st round LA
Real life ended up an inning eater starter for 4 years in the late 90's/early 00's.


10-11, 3.70 ERA 25/25 1.27 WHIP ERA+ 114


Nice H/9, but he's got some control issues. Pitching way above where he should be.


Mike Mimbs; 25, Rookie, 1989 9th round, MIN
Real life was a swingman in the mid 90's.


5-10, 5.19, 21/21 1.40 WHIP ERA+ 82


Came over in the Sergio Del Rosario deal along with Jose Vizcaino (1993). Has real gopher ball issues.


Bill Pulsipher; 20, AAA, 1991, 13th round LA
Journeyman swingman for about 10 years IRL


8-5, 4.58, 17/15 1.28 WHIP ERA+ 110 (AAA)


Made the PCL All Star game for 1994. Has been up for a cup of coffee.


Pat Rapp; 27, 3rd year, 1988, 2nd round LA
RL: Solid 10yr starter, over 1300 IP, 825k


6-12, 4.83, 25/25 1.52 WHIP ERA+ 88


He's been hot and cold, just not getting a lot of help either.


Paul Wilson; 21, Rookie, 1993 3rd round LA
RL: Early 00s starter; tossed 940 IP, 619k


2-0, 1.93, 2/2 1.21 WHIP ERA+ 219


Only got the call after Pettitte went down, but was doing alright at AAA in his first year.


Rene Arocha; 28, 3rd yr, 1991 4th round LA
RL: 4yrs in the majors mostly as a reliever. 331 IP


4-1, 3S, 3.72 36/0 1.45 WHIP ERA+ 114


Used as the set up man, he's been ok. Reliable at least in his first year out of the bullpen.


Matthew Dorin; 34, 12th yr, Minor League FA
RL: Never pitched above A ball in the early 80s.


0-0, 5.06, 4/0 0.75 WHIP ERA + 84


Has struggled through major injuries in his career. Mostly a mop up guy at this point.


Jeff Gray; 31; 6th yr, 1983 2nd round STL; acquired for 2 prospects.
RL: Had 3 seasons in the majors; late 80's to early 90's.


2-0, 4.21, 48/0 1.38 WHIP ERA+ 112 (CIN/STL/LA)


New via waiver trade. The bullpen needed any help it could get.


Arbrey Lucas, 34; 3rd yr, Minor League FA
RL: Never pitched above AA in the mid 80's


5-0, 5.19, 17/0 1.88 WHIP ERA+ 97 (AAA)


He's been a bullpen filler. Given his age, and career numbers it's likely his days are numbered.


John Martin, 38; 14th yr, Minor League FA
RL: 4yr career as a swingman in the early 80's


2-3, 2S, 4.70, 46/0, 1.47 WHIP ERA+ 90


He's been carrying the load for a lot of the bullpen this year, and he's just not very good.


David Peck, 33; 5th yr, 1983 48th round NYY, Acquired via trade with SF
RL: Pitched one season in Short A, 1984.


2-2, 5.91, 28/0, 1.56 WHIP ERA+ 80 (SF/LA)


2nd tour with LA after 8 yrs previously with the club. Solid reliver for LA in '92. Hope he finds it again.


Shigeki Taguchi, 24; 2nd yr, Minor League FA
RL: Never pitched above A ball in one season.


0-1, 3.12, 24/0, 1.10 WHIP ERA+ 136


Brutal on right handed batters from the southpaw side. He's been pleasantly surprising. Recently demoted to AA.


Billy Wagner, 23, Rookie, 1992 4th round
RL: You really ought to know. 15yr career, 2.31 ERA, 422 Saves, 903 IP, 1196 K


0-0, 0S, 3.21 ERA, 10/0, 1.43 WHIP ERA+ 132


Made the jump from AA this year. Started 21 games in the minors, but his control has held him back.


Dave White, 32; Rookie, 1983 5th round MTL
RL: Minor leaguer who made it to AAA in the late 80's.


0-1, 3.31, 9/0 1.10 WHIP ERA+ 128


A long time journeyman with 112 saves in the minors who has paid his dues and got a call, but is back in AAA again.


Jose Cleto, 25; 4th year, 1986 37th round SF
RL: A very, very short stint in rookie ball in 87.


2-6, 20S, 2.59 55/0 1.25 WHIP ERA+ 163


Talk about a career that's grown out of nowhere. He's had some injury issues, but looks like he's got a great career ahead of him.


Jerry Spradlin, 27, Rookie, 1987 1st round LA
RL: Solid career middle reliever in the mid and late 90s.


0-1 1S, 5.00 8/0 1.78 WHIP ERA+ 85


He's been up and down 3 times now, but is back in AA as a closer. It's unclear if he'll ever catch on at this point.


Jerry Brooks, 27, 6th year, 3rd round OAK
RL: 2 cups of coffee in the mid 90s. 17 games played.


.250/.302/.325 OPS+ 71 (1HR/4RBI)


Acquired via trade with OAK for a pair of prospects. He's been a productive sub on the bench and decent catcher. Can play other positions as well.


Jose Valdez, 25; 2nd yr, 1989 8th round LA
RL:Played one season in low A in 1990.


.225/.276/.338 OPS+ 67 (1/10)


He's been up and down over the past 3 years, but gotten a longer look this year. Then the team traded for Brooks, so it would appear that his ML playing days are numbered, and he's in AAA right now. But he's got an .800 OPS there, so he's still got some chance of coming back.


Rick Wilkins, 27; 3rd yr, 1986 2nd round KC
RL: Up and down 10yr career, played for a lot of teams, mostly off the bench. 720 career G, 515 H.


.209/.286/.337 OPS+ 69 (12/58)


Offensively he's hurting the team. Defensively, he's a monster. Cannon for an arm, caught 47% of base stealers this year. In his 3rd yr as the starting catcher. Arbitration eligible next year.


Mike Busch, 26; Rookie, 1989 2nd round LA
RL: One of those picks that mirrored real life. Busch came up in LA's system for real, was a top prospect but ultimately was just a AAAA player. Played parts of 2 seasons in LA over a 10 yr career with over 170 minor league homers.


.297/.354/.534 OPS + 127 (25/88) AAA


On paper he's ready for the show. Corner infielder who should be getting a look knowing there's not much blocking him above. He was called up for 1 game this year, so he's in his final option year.


Fred McGriff, 30, 9th yr, off season signed to a 7 yr deal in '92.
RL: Played 19yrs, nearly 500 homers, bonafide superstar.


.258/.336/.484 OPS+ 120 (29/91)


The only big hitter on the team. He's trying to carry the load, but his numbers are still sub career average right now, but up from last season. He's had a great career so far. A 3-time All Star, MVP, 2-time Silver Slugger, 3-time Champion, and 2-time World Series MVP. All that for the dynastic Astros. Would be nice to carry that into LA a bit longer.


Jose Oliva, 23, Rookie, 1987 5th round LA
RL: A former Dodger prospect who broke into the majors in the mid-90's with Atlanta and Stl, but only hit .178 for his career.


.296/.353/.708 OPS+ 211 (31/71) A


Played in LA for 22 games last season, but has been at A ball, Bakersfield for the entire season. A huge demotion. Not sure what they want him to do. He's crushing the poor A ball pitchers to his delight.


Larry Sutton, 24, Rookie, 1991 3rd round, LA
RL: A long, 12yr career, mostly journeyman and minor leaguer, 252G for 4 different clubs.


.286/.325/.486 OPS+ 118 (2/7)


He's been a pinch hitting sensation this year with 39 games played and 40 plate appearances. He's been a solid bench piece, but only plays first base, so his usefulness is limited.


Jose Hernandez, 25, No Service, 1986 2nd round TEX
RL: An incredible, 20yr career, with over 1500 ML games played, and 1166 hits and 8 ML clubs.


.333/.370/.462 OPS+ 114 (2/16) AAA


Since he's ripping the ball in AAA, one would think the team might send him up soon. But his path has been crazy to get here. He's played in the Rangers (released), Pirates (released), Angels (FA), and another now defunct minor league team organization in his short career. LA signed him in '88 and hasn't let him go.


Geronimo Pena, 27, 7th yr, 1986 Supplemental First round, NYY
RL: Utility guy for 7 years in the 90's in a 10yr professional career.


.282/.358/.472 OPS+ 124 (14/46)


His career has exceeded his real one by a long way. He's been the Dodger 2nd basement for 4 years now. His injury this year set him back (and the team) some. Unknown when he'll be back.


Kurt Stillwell, 29, 9th yr, 1982 first round LA
RL: Played over most of 13 years, mostly in the late 80's and early 90's. 998 G, 779 H


.241/.300/.353 OPS+ 78 (5/28)


HERE HE IS! Yes! The first pick of our Dodgers back when this entire dynasty began 12 years ago and it's his first year playing for LA. Are you not entertained?! Remember he was traded to San Diego for Tim Flannery? The biggest deal he was a part of saw him go to the Padres (again) from the Phillies along with Jeff Bagwell for Matt Williams. He's just a utility guy for LA now.


Dave Hansen, 25, 2nd yr, 1985 3rd round MIL
RL: 19yrs across all levels, was a ML super sub, Dodgers Pinch Hit King. 1230 G, 1793 AB, 466 H.


.180/.275/..279 OPS+ 44 (1/12) AAA


Out of option years, but nothing more than a bench piece occasionally for the team. Has played up for parts of the past 5 seasons.


Charlie Montoyo, 28, 4th yr, 1986 4th round PHI
RL: 9 years, almost all minors, but played 4 games for the Expos in '93.


.227/.341/.298 OPS+ 77 (3/38)


2nd full year as a starter. He's a terrible offensive liability and he's made 17 errors at third. Now awful, but bad enough. Not sure why he's the guy right now.


Brad Tyler, 25, Rookie, 1989 3rd round LA
RL: 12 years in the minors, many at AAA, never got the call. Had 141 HR's and 175 SB's in his career.


.301/.420/.526 OPS+ 143 (10/42) AAA


He was with the main club 15 days and went 1/7 in 8 games. His numbers suggest that perhaps he get a look. I hope he's get the September call, because we could use the punch right now.


Denny Hocking, 24, 2nd yr, 1989 5th round LA
RL: Up and down over 12 years, mostly with the Twins. Played in 954 games, got 591 hits.


.197/.262/.295 OPS+ 52 (1/8)


He's split time between Albuquerque and LA. A little disappointing after a solid rookie campaign. He's under LA control for a while longer to see if he develops more.


Mike Mordecai, 26, Rookie, 1988 4th round LA
RL: Had a 16 year pro career, with most of 10 being in the majors with Atlanta, Montreal, and Florida. 793 games, 333 hits.


.312/.370/.490 OPS+ 121 (11/51)


Looks like a solid prospect right now, started 2 games in LA, but currently in AAA. Another middle infielder to sort out in the mix. Age isn't exactly on his side right now.


Terry Shumpert, 28, 6th year, 1986 2nd round DET
RL: A pro career that spanned 17 years, was a solid utility guy for Colorado later in his career. 854 games, 497 hits.


.221/.242/.279 OPS+ 42 (1/10)


Presently in AAA, LA is his 3rd stop after Detroit and Seattle. He's arbitration eligible, and is just another middle infielder with some all around skills and prospects trying to win starting jobs.


Jose Vizcaino, 26, 2nd year, 1986 first round MIN
RL: a long 19 yr pro career, with trips to the majors over 17 of them he held down many jobs, played for 8 teams (LA was his first). 1820 G 1453 H


.294/.333/.370 OPS + 92 (0/27)


His injury and Pena's together really took a lot of wind out of the sails for LA. But he's back and starting again, and he looks to have the job locked down. The team getting him and Mimbs for the oft injured Sergio Del Rosario was one of the smartest trades the team has made lately.


Carl Everett, 23, 3rd year, 1989 1st round, LA
RL: A 16 yr pro career, with parts of 13 in the majors. Mostly with Boston, Chicago (AL) and Houston. 1405 G 1304 H, over 200 career HR's.


.277/.359/.435 OPS + 115 (5/21)


Personally, it's a shame that he's not on the field right now. He was a difference maker last season, but this year he lost his starting job to another rookie. He's filled in at all 3 outfield positions, so it's nice to have that flexibility, but we could be getting so much more from him I think.


Rickey Henderson, 35 16th season, LA FA Signing
RL: You ought to know. HoF OF, the Man of Steal, 3081 G, 3055 H, 297 HR, 1406 SB


.237/.365/.333 OPS+ 92 (4/29)


He's having a terrible year. His worst since his rookie year in 1979. He's hitting an amazing .059 in August, and even more amazing, an .059 SLG too. Not one extra base hit since he came back from his injury. He's played more games for LA than any other team in his career now,even though his numbers won't even come close to his real life numbers he's still a very valuable player on this team. He still has 2 more seasons left on his original 7 year deal.


Darren Lewis, 27, 4th season, 1987 SUP 1st NYY
RL: A 14 yr career, with parts of 12 in the majors, Lewis played for 7 different teams, played in 1354 games, and got 1021 hits in his career.


.260/.350/.358 OPS+ 94 (4/32)


Not flashy but he frequently gets the job done. Gets on base fairly regularly and is always a threat to steal, with a career high 43 already this year. In his 4 year as the Dodger center fielder, he's due to hit arbitration next year. Will he stay in favor of the club with the rising crop of younger players?


Lee Stevens, 27, 5th season, 1985 1st round CIN
RL: 14 year career, with 10 in the majors, Stevens played for 4 teams through the 90s, with plenty of starting roles on those teams. 1012 games, 847 hits.


.292/.351/.433 OPS+ 112 (1/21)


Originally came over from the Reds with Frank DiPino for Tony Phillips, Stevens has been a key bench and reserve piece for LA. He's lost his starting role with the arrival of younger players, but gets on the field subbing at first and in the outfield. He's currently in AAA and not too happy about it, expect to see him join the team at the roster expansion.


Bobby Abreu, 20, Rookie, 1990 1st round LA
RL: An amazing 23 year career, with 18 of those in the majors. Abreu played mostly for the Phillies and later with the Angels and Yankees. 2425 games, 2470 hits, 288 home runs, 400 stolen bases.


.270/.381/.457 OPS+ 128 (9/48)


He might be a rookie of the year candidate? He's won the right field job at the age of 20. He's considered the #5 prospect in all of baseball so the chance he's being given is pretty validated. It's hard to get him off the field for anyone. Would like to see a bit more power and production from him, but you know he's only a rookie and he's helped push the team to the top of the West.


Glenn Davis, 33, 11th season, Acquired for 2 low tier prospects from FLO.
RL: A monstrous slugger with 13 pro seasons, and 9 in the pros. He saw his career derailed by injuries. Played for Houston in his prime, Baltimore after it. 1015 Games, 965 hits, 190 HRs.


.326/.392/.717 OPS + 193 (5/11)


He was a cheap get, and he's torn the cover off the ball in his short run in LA, hitting over .400 in limited action. He's not pressing anyone for playing time, and looks to just be riding out his career on the end of the bench. In the meantime, he's still a dangerous hitter when he gets to the plate, no matter when that it.

[PilotMan]

I was today years old when I realized that Dodger third basemen, Charlie Montoyo is the actual, current, Toronto Blue Jays Manager.

[Poli]

That's awesome.

[PilotMan]

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Poor Charlie got fired today.

[PilotMan]

Somehow this is still going strong. Slowly, but still going.


Let's put it this way, the NL West was total shit in '94. But let's start at the top the Minnesota Twins won their 2nd title and the first since 1924. The Twins posted a regular season record 88-74, but defeated the A's three games to one, the Orioles four games to one, and the Pirates in a fantastic 7 game series. Pudge Rodriguez lead the team, slashing his way to a .345/.390/.570, with 25 HR's and a team high 181 hits. Kevin Tapani missed 8 weeks in the middle of the summer, but still lead the team with a 14-3 record and a 4.03 ERA. Paul Quantrill topped out the most innings with 216, the only pitcher on the team to clear 200.


The Dodgers missed the playoffs for the 7th straight season. However, well....they lost a playoff in game 163 to the Giants. Which, if you've seen how the past few years have gone that would be a good thing, but the team lost like 8 of their last 10 and could have clinched it, but failed.


Keeping with our team centric focus:


74-89; 2nd place in the West, 1 GB


McGriff had a resurgent year smacking 41 HRs and managed to stay healthy and played in 161 games. Rookie Bobby Abreu lead the NL with 13 triples. He slashed .263/.368/.447 with 120 hits, 10 dingers, and 28 stolen bases. Geronimo Pena rounded out the offense with 14 HR's (2nd on the team) while posting an OPS of .831. However he missed over 13 weeks with knee injuries, so his overall impact was stunted.


The pitching staff workhorse ended up being 2nd year pitcher Chris Holt who went 11-16 with a 3.67 ERA and 208 innings of work. Mostly the Dodgers got by with a rotation that looked like this most of the year:


Chris Holt
Pat Rapp (6-17, 186IP, 101k)
Mike Mimbs (7-14, 164, 113)
Andy Pettitte (10-5, 173, 109)
Terrell Berthau (16-10, 188, 100)


Pettitte started to come into his own, but he tore his rotator cuff on August 16, and missed the rest of the year.


John Franco was brought on to close, but he went down the end of June with a partially torn labrum and only managed 11 saves with a 2.25 ERA. Jose Cleto stepped up as the closer for LA the rest of the year and saved 23 of 26 with a 2.97 ERA in 66 innings of work.


So you can see, that in spite of a bad season, the team nearly made the playoffs with an unheard of 89 losses. Imagine what 1995 will bring!


It's opening day, the offseason is over and the team ready. This is the MLB Prospectus preview on LA this year.

[CrossroadsReb]

Glad to see this pop back up in my feed.

[PilotMan]

LA has a new manager, and he's not impressive.


Bryan Bennett isthe new head of the team. He last managed in the minors 10 years ago. He's a nice guy, conventional manager. But most importantly, he's cheap. His 115k a year salary has to be one of the cheapest in baseball. Can you tell our owner loves profits over winning? Hate that guy.


PITCHERS


Starters


Andy Pettitte, LHP, 3rd season, 22y/o
10-5, 3.12 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 128 ERA+


The ace of the staff? Maybe? Would love to see him all season and not be hurt. May still need more seasoning, but promising.


Ismael Valdez, RHP, 3rd season, 21y/o
1-2, 5.03 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 79 ERA+


Coming off of a shoulder injury that saw him miss almost all the the season. The former 2nd round pick is ready to make an impact.


Chris Holt, RHP, 3rd season, 23y/o
11-16, 3.67 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 109 ERA+


Ate a lot of innings last season, the former first round pick had good numbers, and we all want to see him repeat those numbers with some offense.


Terrell Berthau, RHP, 2nd season, 23y/o
16-10, 2S, 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 102 ERA+


Split time between the pen and starting, and pitched rather well for a guy who once was a 29th round selection.


Paul Wilson, RHP, Rookie, 22y/o
3-4, 4.66 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 86 ERA+


Came up late in the year, he's a 3rd round pick, and the Dodgers 13th ranked prospect in the organization.


Bullpen


Lee Tunnell, RHP, 6th season, 34y/o
Out of baseball


Unbelievably made the team after being out of baseball last season and having last pitched in the majors in 1988 with the Red Sox.


Kevin Richards, RHP, 9th season, 36y/o
3-3, 4S, 6.41 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 69 ERA+


Last year played for the Braves and Brewers. LA is his 7th team. Going to be 37, but is a great guy in the dugout.


Zane Smith, LHP, 11th season, 34y/o
3-3, 3S, 4.00 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 111 ERA+


Two-time all star with the Braves. Has transitioned to the bullpen, but can still start if needed. Pitched for both the Mariners and the Rockies last year.


Edward Lindsey, LHP, 11th season, 35y/o
0-1, 2.63 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 149 ERA+


Two-time all start with the Mets. Has been wrecked with injuries through most of his career. Pitched for LA in '93. Still solid when he's healthy.


Pat Rapp, RHP, 4th season, 27y/o
6-17, 4.78 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 84 ERA+


Still a starter in his mind, he's lost out to start the season. 97 starts in the past 3 seasons.


Jose Cleto, RHP, 5th season, 26y/o
2-8, 23S, 2.97 ERA, 1.26 ERA, 135 ERA+


Injuries are still a major concern for him. Arm and shoulder problems were the issue last season. Still hits triple digits on the speed gun.


Rick Aguilera, RHP, 10th season, 33y/o
4-4, 28S, 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 135 ERA+


Big time free agent get. Two-time all star with the Angels and Phillies. Reliever oft the Year in with the Astros in '93.


BATTERS


Catchers


BJ Surhoff, 9th season, 30y/o
.209/5/29 .594 OPS


Former first round draft pick returns home. He's a reliable catcher and utility man now. But never made it through a year playing more than 138 games.


Mark Leonard, 8th season, 30y/o
.215/8/37 .655 OPS


Journeyman catcher and utility player joins after a year starting for the Blue Jays.


First Base


Fred McGriff,, 10th season, 31y/o
.263/41/121 .852 OPS


Three time All Star, Two time Silver Slugger, MVP Winner. Literally carried the offense last season. Lead the NL in homeruns and RBI's. Four years plus a team option left on his contract.


Larry Sutton, 2nd season, 24y/o
.259/2/8 .700 OPS


In his last option season, Sutton makes the team as a pinch hitter and reserve. Former 3rd round draft pick.


Second Base


Craig Biggio, 9th season, 29y/o
.294/17/90 .877 OPS


Four time All Star, Three time Silver Slugger (2 at C, 1 at 2B). The second big FA signing for LA this season. Signed a long 7-year deal, but can opt out after two years.


Jeff Patzke, Rookie, 21y/o
.271/2/10 .773 OPS


Makes the big jump from "A" ball to the majors. Former 2nd round pick. Dodgers 10th ranked prospect. Good defensive infielder.


Short Stop


Jose Vizcaino, 3rd season, 27y/o
.279/0/34 .685 OPS


Should have started last season, but missed a ton of time with an injury. Will get another shot this season,will help out on defense,but can he hit?


Third Base


Charlie Montoyo, 5th season, 29y/o
.210/3/41 .595 OPS


Started last year, but arguably one of the weakest spots on the team. Right now, he's just a placeholder for Scott Rolen.


Outfield


Rickey Henderson, 17th season, 36y/o
.230/7/36 .688 OPS


Coming off the worst season of his career. He's still under contract for another two years. Four time Gold Glove, Five time All Star, two time Silver Slugger. Still starting in left.


Darren Lewis, 5th season, 27y/o
.258/4/34 55 SB .686 OPS


He's been a reliable starter for LA in center. Still holding onto the job. Little injuries have been chipping away at him every year.


Bobby Abreu, 2nd season, 21y/o
.263/10/51 28 SB, .815 OPS


Coming off a great rookie season, he looks like the real deal for LA. Still missed 30 games with injuries. Former first round pick.


Carl Everett, 4th season, 23y/o
.266/6/25 .755 OPS


You have to wonder if he will supplant Henderson in left sooner rather than later. He's clearly got starting level talent, but for now, he comes off the bench.


Bill Masse, 3rd season, 28y/o
.273/0/6 .815 OPS


He's been up and down over 5 years with LA. He's out of option years, but this is probably his last shot to make a ML career. Above average runner and fielder, but guys like him in the clubhouse.




Top Prospects


Note: LA is regarded as the top farm system in the Majors. I guess losing all these years has paid off in one way.


1. Chris Carpenter, 19
#8 ML Prospect
5-7, 2.24 ERA, 101 IP 0.97 WHIP in Rookie and Class A
Starts in Low A


2. Scott Rolen, 19
#9 ML Prospect
.362/16/96 1.033 OPS in Rookie and Class A
MVP in Class A California League
Starts in AA


3. Richard Hidalgo, 19
#14 ML Prospect
.320/6/48 .846 OPS in Class A
Starts in Class A


4. Carlos Beltran, 17
#52 ML Prospect
First Round Draft pick (10th Overall 1994)
Starts in Rookie Ball


5. Raul Rodarte, 24
#53 ML Prospect
.275/11/66 .780 OPS in Class AA
Former first round pick, top catching prospect, running out of time, but now utility prospect. You can make a good argument he should be starting over Montoyo.
Starts in AAA


6. Sean Estes, 22
#79 ML Prospect
2-3, 3.02, 53 IP 1.23 WHIP in Class A
Starts in AAA
Could be primed to debut this season.


7. John Thompson, 21
#94 ML Prospect
12-4, 2.58 ERA 163 IP, 1.12 WHIP in Class A and AA
Starts in AAA


8. Brett Tomko, 21
#99 ML Prospect
Second Round Draft Pick (49th Overall 1994)
Starts in AA


9. Pedro Valdes, 21
#115 ML Prospect
.308/4/55 .736 OPS in Class A
Starts in AAA


10. Jeff Patzke, 21
#125 ML Prospect
.271/2/10 .773 in Class A
Starts in the Majors




Believe it or not. The preseason guides have LA penned as the NL West Pennant winners this season. Projected record is 86-76. After years of just terrible baseball, the team is still only 17th in league player payroll, but they have some young talent, and some aging talent. If these guys show up, good things might just happen. Something for a fan to look forward to in a long season of watching games at least.