Here's the latest from the City of Angels (and Dodgers)…
- Andre Ethier would've gotten more than a five-year, $85MM deal as a free agent, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest Hot Corner video. Rosenthal noted that even in a crowded market for outfielders, Ethier's numbers were better than every other potential free agent outfielder (except Josh Hamilton) and Ethier could've found a contract akin to Jayson Werth's seven-year, $126MM deal with the Nationals. Still, Rosenthal calls Ethier's extension good for both sides, as Ethier enjoys playing for the Dodgers and the team gets to keep a big bat at a relative bargain price.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto talks to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times about the trade that brought Dan Haren to Anaheim, a deal that Dipoto swung from the other side while acting as the Diamondbacks' interim general manager.
- The Angels announced they have agreed to terms with 14 draft picks, with fourth-rounder Alex Yarbrough named as the highest-selected of the signees. The Halos have reached deals with 25 of 38 draft picks thus far. The Angels didn't make a selection until the third round, as they lost their first and second-round picks as compensation for signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson last offseason.
what i like about the ethier signing is the Years ofcourse in my opinion the money was too much but its better to sign a guy for 5 yrs then give a guy 8-10 yr. contract.
Take Matt Cain for an example right? (He’s actually six years) But he has probably around the same reputation as Ethier.
First off…Bourn is blowing him out of the water so far so that’s not even true. Bourn has more fWAR ALREADY this year than Ethier’s best full year. And secondly, apparently contracts are given out on 2 month sample sizes….Ethier’s best fWAR season in 596 PA was 3.5. Jayson Werth’s 4th best in the 4 years leading up to FA was 3.3……in almost exactly 1/2 those PA with 304. The other years were 5.2, 5.0 and 5.3. Not to mention Upton/Swisher/Victorino/Bourn have all had FOUR seasons better than any season Ethier has had. Apparently a terrible defender in right that can’t touch lefties and with injury issues is more valuable than 3 good-great CFers and Swisher. 2 months doesn’t erase logical minds of what a player’s true value is. Ethier was worth about $48-60MM tops and probably only if he was moved to 1B or DH fairly soon.
To be fair, this year he has improved greatly against lefties. Not sure if it is due to an adjustment or just luck.
Actually he had only one bad year against lefties, excluding his two injury seasons.
His splits from 2009-2011 are pretty bad, but he was much better in 2006-08.
Exactly. 2010 and 2011 were both injury seasons. In 2009 he had problems with lefties but was good overall. The idea that he has always hit lefties poorly, or is doing something this year against lefties that he hasn’t done before, is plainly false.
How many time are you going to tout this line despite the overwhelming evidence presented against you.
What I am saying is completely accurate. Do the splits yourself.
career wOBA of .298=bad against lefties. you can tell yourself anything you want or make any excuses but numbers don’t end up that poorly for a career for no reason.
Try looking at the splits by season as I have already mentioned. Thank you.
To be fair, taking less than 100 PA’s, where he’s been aided by a .375 BABIP, over his career of almost 900 PA’s of awfulness is just SSS noise and wishful thinking. His career BABIP against lefties is .297 and that includes this years giant spike. He isn’t a high BABIP player.
First off, you need to look at the Dodgers needs. They have Gordon as their up and coming leadoff hitter, so speed (Bourn, Upton) isn’t going to be at the top of their needs. A middle of the lineup power bat is more important to them. In addition, Kemp has solidified his place in CF, and isn’t likely to be moved. Even when Kemp and Gwynn are both starting, Kemp starts in CF (despite Gwynn being arguably the better defender). It doesn’t seem the Dodgers want to ask their star player to switch positions.
So, with that out of the way…
BJ Upton has been pretty inconsistent and his batting average, OBP and SLG have all consistently been far below Ethier’s.
Bourn is slightly better than Upton, but same story. Lower average, OBP and SLG throughout his career.
Victorino and the Dodgers have a history. I don’t think he’s interested in coming back to the Dodgers, nor do I think the Dodgers are interested in him. He’s also a year and a half older than Ethier, and again, lower average, OBP and SLG across the board.
Swisher would be a fine alternative to Ethier, but he is also year and a half older. I wouldn’t mind Swisher on a 3 year deal, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers make him an offer for LF if he reaches free agency (though the IF corners are probably of greater concern).
Baseball aside, signing Ethier long-term also appeases Dodger fans, many of whom adore Ethier. He has quite a following due to his frequent late-innings heroics and the ladies really seem to like him. The fan base probably wouldn’t appreciate letting Ethier go and replacing him with anyone short of Josh Hamilton.
The Dodgers needs are NOT to overpay an overrated RFer. And Dee Gordon has been one of the worst players in the game this year. Counting on him to set the table with a wOBA of .261 and a career 4.4% BB% is a horrible idea. Also, Kemp should most likely be moved to an OF corner already as he’s basically only had 1 positive year of UZR in CF if you don’t count the 17.1 innings he played there 5 years ago. Either way he’s very productive and an absolute elite player regardless of where he plays but adding a CFer to play in the spacious OF like the Yankees do with Gardner or the Diamondbacks did with Parra still makes for a more valuable player than Ethier.
I understand your point and Ethier has proven to be a better HITTER than those other guys but defense, stolen bases and base running still count and they obliterate him and are overall the better players. Better players=better team, regardless. The Dodgers need better position players, period. Their entire infield is weak and are in need of another OFer. Spending the money on some corner infield power would have been a much better way to spend that money. Also, paying a guy double what he’s worth because the ladies like him and to appease fans is a good way to make a ton of mistakes. Fans want one thing, and one thing alone. WINNING. And late hitting heroics aren’t something that can be consistently relied upon.
My entire point is Ethier isn’t a bad player and it wouldn’t have been a bad move to sign him, but he’s going to need to move to 1B soon, and then you can’t sign a powerhouse 1B or trade Ethier when he’s getting overpaid so much in his mid 30’s. And even though Ethier isn’t a bad player the article was about how Ethier was comparable with Werth and better than the OF crop which is just patently and egregiously false. Ethier in the 4 year $48-60MM range is a fine move. They just gave him double what he’s worth in a very strong OF class. How often does the 6th best OFer in FA get over $100MM??? And he might be the 7th if Quentin keeps doing what he’s doing and makes it to FA. Thank you for at least not using Gold Gloves or RBI’s to prove your point. It’s difficult to have a reasonable conversation with people that are still using 1950’s stats.
Granted, Gordon has really struggled this season. But that shouldn’t be unexpected; it is his first full season in the majors and he hasn’t been playing baseball very long. I’m not panicking yet. He did really well the end of last season, he just needs to make adjustments. If he hasn’t turned it around by the end of the season, the Dodgers can adjust appropriately.
In my estimation, the Dodgers can afford to overpay Ethier. And appeasing fans does make financial sense; fans respond to front office decisions. Turnout at Dodgers Stadium was abysmal last season, and much of that was due to displeasure with ownership and not necessarily performance on the field. Retaining fan favorite players keeps the revenue flowing in, which makes overpaying Ethier no real loss to the Dodgers financially. They’re probably making millions off the sales of Ethier jerseys alone. He’s hugely popular in L.A.
Considering the Dodgers market and where their payroll has been at over the last 5-10 years, I’m thinking the Dodgers will still have plenty of flexibility to address the issues of 1B, 3B and LF. And I’d have no problem with Ethier moving to 1B if that means bringing in Bourn, Upton or Swisher for RF. That would help address the weak infield and improve the Dodgers defensively (though I don’t feel Ethier’s defense has cost the Dodgers on more than a handful of occasions). The 1B market this off-season seems rather thin.
If the Dodgers don’t make a move for an impact bat this off-season (or sooner), then I will start to second guess Ethier’s contract. But at the moment, I’m trusting that the new ownership will invest revenue into payroll appropriately. If we’re starting 2013 with Uribe at 3B and Abreu in LF, then I will start to complain about overpaying Ethier…
hrbomber1113, why you mad bro?
if andre continues to be productive, no one will notice his contract. the dodgers have money, guys. the dodgers are going to add some offense eventually.
Ethier has been a productive player his entire career and should continue to produce. this contract will be fine. sure it’s an overpay, but it wont matter imo
The whole point is he’s never really been that productive and players without steroids don’t get better in their mid 30’s.
He also already fields like a DH.