AussieDodger wrote:Pierre shouldn't even be on the bench. Again, if Colletti had any nads he'd straight cut Pierre from the team and eat the money owed.
That's a little crazy. Pierre isn't that good but he still has value as a bench player. They are going to pay him one way or the other so why not keep him on the team.
On the bench as what? Fielding | Power |Plate discipline |Running Pinch-runner is the only option. I think the Dodgers can find a pinch-runner who is a better fielder, and hitter, therefore giving them more options. There is a precedence of dropping this much dough - Josh Byrnes sacked one of the Ortiz's who was owed $20+ mil. Josh Byrnes = testicular fortitude.
Pierre has a lot of intangibles that managers like. The biggest of which, is that he is the toughest hitter in the league to strike out. When you can be almost guaranteed that he will make some sort of contact, and add to that the fact that he's hard to double off due to his speed.....you have yourself a valuable real life player.
AussieDodger wrote:On the bench as what? Fielding | Power |Plate discipline |Running Pinch-runner is the only option. I think the Dodgers can find a pinch-runner who is a better fielder, and hitter, therefore giving them more options. There is a precedence of dropping this much dough - Josh Byrnes sacked one of the Ortiz's who was owed $20+ mil. Josh Byrnes = testicular fortitude.
Exactly. As a pinch runner. Having someone with Pierre's speed late in a game is a huge asset. At the very least LA could eat most of the contract and trade him for a minor leaguer.
AussieDodger wrote:On the bench as what? Fielding | Power |Plate discipline |Running Pinch-runner is the only option. I think the Dodgers can find a pinch-runner who is a better fielder, and hitter, therefore giving them more options. There is a precedence of dropping this much dough - Josh Byrnes sacked one of the Ortiz's who was owed $20+ mil. Josh Byrnes = testicular fortitude.
Exactly. As a pinch runner. Having someone with Pierre's speed late in a game is a huge asset. At the very least LA could eat most of the contract and trade him for a minor leaguer.
True, Pierre can always pinch-run for say a Jeff Kent or Andre Ethier in the later innings with the game on the line.
As for Matt Kemp, all indication is he'll start today. Torre has gone on record saying he was hesitant to pit him against Dan Haren because the breaking balls have still been Kemp's Achilles' heel as he's chasing for pitches outside or just outside of the strike zone and whiffing. We'll see how he does vs. Doug Davis tonight.
To the guy who said that I'm mad that my 4th round draft pick isnt working out, I took Kemp 110th overall which which would make him an 11th rounder.
Given 500 at bats im pretty sure he would justify that draft position or close to it.
And Andruw Jones is not a great defensive center fielder anymore, hes still good but he cant cover anywhere near as much ground as he used to.
I agree with the assessment of Pierre, his arm is weak, he cant hit for power, the dodgers already have a true leadoff hitter, he has a low OBP, and all the other points that were made. I just don't understand how a guy who hit .342 last year can't play everyday. He also led the team with 19 RBI's this spring. And I keep hearing Torre say that he wants to sit Kemp against certain matchups, according to his career numbers he doesnt have a big problem hitting lefties or righties and warrants a full time job.
And to the guy saying to calm down because its only a week into the year......
Tell that to Joe Torre please. Matt Kemp was clearly the most talented OF in the spring lol Joe Torre is a joke for benching a guy based on 15 at bats. Big deal hes struck out 6 times, who cares? Everyone knows the guy can hit and that he'll come around given the opportunity. Torre needs to stick with Kemp and stop freaking out because its amazing how much stress it takes off a young hitter when you know that you have a manager that has faith in you and is gonna stick with you day in and day out. Kemp is just trying too hard right now, because he knows everything that he does right now is magnified and that he still does not have an everday job.
Despite Kemps struggles early on, he is still hitting higher than Andruw Jones (.115) and Juan Pierre (.067). Its just sad that the young player who is clearly the most talented has to take a back seat to these guys just because they have big contracts.
One other possibility (remote) -- supposedly Kemp is a real A-hole so maybe that "great" psychologist Joe Torre is trying to teach him the "right" way.
lbbaseball14 wrote:Its just sad that the young player who is clearly the most talented has to take a back seat to these guys just because they have big contracts.
Yep. Not only is he getting paid way less while being better, but he isn't getting the playing time he deserves.
I've been a huge Braves fan my whole life, and Jones has gotten increasingly incompetent at the plate. As much as I loved his glove, I am happy to have his bat out of the lineup. Real happy.
As bad as the Pierre signing was, I'd say the Jones signing was 10 times worse.
One other possibility (remote) -- supposedly Kemp is a real A-hole so maybe that "great" psychologist Joe Torre is trying to teach him the "right" way.
Thats a good point, Ive also heard that Kemp has a bit of an attitude problem so there could be something going on between him and Torre. According to yahoo though and the other news that I've read on the situation, Kemp has handled the whole situation pretty well so far.
lbbaseball14 wrote:Its just sad that the young player who is clearly the most talented has to take a back seat to these guys just because they have big contracts.
Yep. Not only is he getting paid way less while being better, but he isn't getting the playing time he deserves.
I've been a huge Braves fan my whole life, and Jones has gotten increasingly incompetent at the plate. As much as I loved his glove, I am happy to have his bat out of the lineup. Real happy.
As bad as the Pierre signing was, I'd say the Jones signing was 10 times worse.
I agree 100% with this assessment. He is flat out terrible at the plate, and with his range in question his defense has also become an increasing liability because he is no where near the outfielder he used to be.
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by slomo007 » Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:37 am | Power
