and is reportedly headed back to his old team. While I would have loved Rafy coming back for one year it was not in the cards and the last thing I would have wanted is a 34 year old SS with a bad back. On the surface not giving into the demands of Furcal is a good thing but ONLY if we decide to go with our in house options of Hu, Abreu, or DeJesus.
If Ned then turns to Orlando Cabrera, Jack Wilson, or Berroa then it will be a mistake. If you are going to have a light hitting SS you might as well have a low cost defensive gem like HU then an expensive option like Cabrera or Wilson. Cabrera will cost us our number one draft pick plus whatever salary he can take from us. Wilson will cost us whatever it would take in trade value. Berroa would just cost us some money and might not be the worse option in case Hu still can't hit, Abreu still can't stay healthy, or DeJesus is just not ready.
Or maybe Ned will try to wrangle a different SS from some club that we are unaware is available. Tejada? Lugo? Hardy? Hall? Barlett? Brignac? Other then Hardy none of them are inspiring and Hardy would cost us a bundle.
Without signing Furcal the budget still sits at $70Million before any arbitration cases are resolved with Martin, Ethier, or Broxton. With Boras having Manny as his agent I have little faith that Manny ends up a Dodger. The Dodgers are being very cautious this winter and when was the last time a cautious owner signed a Boras client.
The 2009 season might look grim as the team currently is constituted. It is only December so before we start the woe is me chant, let us wait until we see how this plays out. We will add some pitching, of that I am sure. If we indeed make no other moves and this is the team for 2009, it may not be a championship caliber team headed into the season but the core of talent is still intact with Loney, DeWitt, DeJesus, Martin, Ethier, Kemp, Billingsley, Kershaw, Broxton, McDonald, and Elbert so that is a plus.
[UPDATE]
Not so fast says Yahoo's Tim Brown
0 recs | 9 comments
TC,
Hu is better than Berroa right now, simply because Berroa is a terrible defensive SS.
Tango and Cash - December 16, 2008
re:
Not if he hits like he did last year. No amount of defense can make up for what Hu did last year. Now if he can meet our modest offensive expectation you are correct. What was the plus/minus on Berroa last year? Subjectively he just seemed a tad below average, not Jeter like.
Phil Gurnee - December 16, 2008
Not sure about his +/- (where’s a good place to get that?) His FRAA for last year was actually 1, instead of the usual -15 to -20, so that actually helped him be worth 1.3 wins (WARP3). That tops Hu’s -0.4 WHIP due to his horrendous bat and his FRAA was below average in his Dodger stint (-2).
Tango and Cash - December 16, 2008
Angel Berroa And Chin Lung Hu Defense
UZR=-4
Plus/Minus=0
UZR=-0.1
Plus/Minus=+4
PMR=5-6 plays above average or so (I forgot the exact thing he e-mailed me)
Either way, Hu is better than Berroa defensively, and he might be elite if given time.
Chad Moriyama - December 16, 2008
Reports are Furcal took less money to go Atlanta. He must really hate Oakland.
Tango and Cash - December 16, 2008
Is it confirmed that we won't match the offer?
I thought there was still a chance, however slim, that we got him. But with Ned’s comments it sounded doubtful. Just please Ned, let Hu/Dejesus play for it!!
Brendan Scolari - December 16, 2008
re;
You may be right, sounds like negotiating is still going on.
Phil Gurnee - December 16, 2008
To clarify
I meant let Hu/Dejesus battle it out for SS if we didn’t get Furcal. I would be all for adding him on a 3 year deal. I agree with the poster below, Furcal is fun to watch, and obviously, really good if he is healthy.
Brendan Scolari - December 16, 2008
A three year contract to Furcal might not be the best move, but hot damn do I like watching him play baseball.
the big grabowski - December 16, 2008
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