On this day in 1978, the Dodgers clinched the NLCS on Bill Russell's walkoff single in the 10th inning of Game Four. It was the 19th National League pennant for the Dodgers' franchise, though the club would lose the World Series to the Yankees.
Some news from the modern-day Dodgers…
- GM Ned Colletti broke down the Dodgers' roster and offseason plans in an interview with ESPN's Jim Bowden. Colletti reiterated that signing Matt Kemp to a multiyear extension was "a priority" and extending Clayton Kershaw would also be explored through without as much urgency since Kershaw is under control through 2014. Colletti said he "would entertain" locking up Andre Ethier as well, and though he noted that Ethier is "coming off an injury and a subpar season," the GM also said that Ethier isn't a candidate to be dealt.
- Hiroki Kuroda "is an extremely loyal person to both the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles and really doesn't want to play anywhere else," Colletti said. He noted that Kuroda's daughters go to school in L.A. and the right-hander has bought a house in town.
- Colletti also noted that the Dodgers would "probably let Tim Federowicz and A.J. Ellis handle the [catching] duties" next season. As Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times notes, this would mean the team won't bring back Rod Barajas, who last month said he hoped to finish his career in Dodger blue.
- Barring a surprise signing of Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, Mike Petriello of the Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness blog wonders where the Dodgers will find their desired middle-of-the-order bat this winter.
- A bankruptcy judge has ruled that the Dodgers will not be able to obtain information from MLB's 29 other teams, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Frank McCourt and his attorneys have stated that the Dodgers were being treated differently by Major League Baseball than other teams and were looking for documentation to prove this alleged double standard.
I hope we get a new owner and they fire Colletti. This whole team will go nowhere with them at the helm.
LAD fans ain’t gonna’ like it, but great news for Fed-X to maybe get a MLB job. he was backed up in Boston big time by Lavarnway, Expo and even McHenry at the start of the season and it would have taken a few years (if ever) he got a chance to show off his rifle arm and defense with Boston.
Hope it works out well in LA and that he can hit a little at least at this level.
Why aren’t we going to like it? Not sure I follow you there.
As a backup I’d prefer to see the Dodgers keep Barajas and trade Ellis.
I can’t imagine anyone would really want Ellis, but I do agree that Barajas would be a better back-up to Federowicz since we know Barajas can hit (at least for power).
Just a not proven rookie who had never played above AA before he was traded to the Dodgers last July and only had a handful of AB’s with the Dodgers in September.
Don’t get me wrong.. I hope he does very, very well. Both he and Lavarnway in the Sox system were 2 of my fav’s to keep track of, just not sure he is going to be able to hit enough at the MLB level.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Dodgers WERE being treated unfairly. If I was Selig, I would want McCourt out too, the guy took a great and storied franchise and ran it almost into the ground.
Come on now, isn’t it unfair for Selig to treat McCourt like the jerk he is?
Selig should leave a flaming pile of poo on McCourt’ door step. That would be awesome!
I would love to see Barajas come in and take a backup job behind Fed. A.J. Ellis is what he is, a minor league guy who doesn’t bring anything exceptional to a major league team. Deal Ellis off for a bag of balls, give Fed the reigns and go with it. Worst case scenario, Fed fails and we lean on Barajas again.
In the meantime, sign Kemp long-term, see if Kershaw can be locked up early and favorably, and get Ethier out of town while he is still worth something. While the ball is rolling, send McCourt back to Boston, give Colletti the boot, and return the Dodgers back to its former glory. Is that asking for too much?
trade Mccourt and Colletti to Boston for Epstein lol…we can add AJ too and boston can send us the bag of balls…lol
Are you kidding me Ellis? He hasn’t done anything for this team. We’ve given him enough time to perform and he hasn’t at all whatsoever. That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. Ellis is if anything a triple A catcher. We have given him so many opportunities the past two years plus.
you’re right. AJ Ellis and his career .360 OBP in the majors sucks. including .392 in his limited ABs this season.
and the dodgers havent given him enough chances. sorry, but 87 total MLB games from 2008-2011 isn’t exactly “many opportunities”
Ellis doesn’t suck. I simply prefer Barajas as the mentor for a young catcher based on his experience in the majors and his defensive skills. Ellis will be out of options soon if not already. Trade him while he’s got some value. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s exactly what happens, despite what Colletti says now.
Ellis doesn’t suck. I simply prefer Barajas as the mentor for a young catcher based on his experience in the majors and his defensive skills. Ellis will be out of options soon if not already. Trade him while he’s got some value. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s exactly what happens, despite what Colletti says now.
Re-sign Kuroda and get Darvish. Bring back Rivera to back up Sands and Loney. Bring back Barajas and Carroll. Lock up Kemp.
I’d take Ellis’s .360 career OBP over Barajas’s .284 OBP any day
If the game was only about OBP then you’d have a point.
Good thing it’s not about hitting home runs either. Of Barajas’s 16 homers, 10 were solos. AJ Ellis still had a higher OPS than Barajas even with his lack of power.
Yes it’s obviously Barajas’ fault that usually nobody is on base when he hits homers. Maybe that comes from hitting eighth. You think? Anyhow, as I said above a couple of times, I think his value to the team is not at the plate, it’s behind the plate.