With Dodgers unable to add big bat, offense is left shaky
The Big Bat, or perhaps better put, the Elusive Big Bat.
To paraphrase Don Henley, it’s not here, it’s not coming.
The Dodgers’ offense is what it is, which is to say, barely improved over what it was last year. When it was one step ahead of horrific.
The Dodgers had no good offensive numbers last season. They were toward the bottom of every major offensive statistical category for baseball’s 30 teams in average (19th), runs (21st), home runs (27th) slugging (24th), on-base percentage (tied for 17th) and RBI (24th).
And now with the major off-season work done, they have added second baseman Juan Uribe.
Doesn’t exactly get the happy feet moving.
Now, Uribe is a fine addition, although they did have to overpay him in dollars and duration ($21 million, three years).
But he is not that big bat they almost desperately need. He is 31 and coming off a career year with 24 home runs and 85 RBI. Over the past nine seasons, however, he averaged 16 home runs and 60 RBI, numbers closer to what can reasonably be expected.
General Manager Ned Colletti spoke of needing to add another bat, presumably of significance, when the season ended. When he signed Uribe in November, he was asked if Uribe was that bat.
"Yeah, I think so," he said. "This is a bat, certainly. Is it the bat? We’ll find out if it’s the bat. But it’s certainly a guy who provides a lot of offense for us.
"I can’t predict what we’re going to do behind the plate or in left field but I do know we have ourselves a player here that’s offense and can also play all over the infield."
What they’ve done since behind the plate is sign Rod Barajas and lose Russell Martin. Left field remains uncertain, unless you’re all giddy about Tony Gwynn Jr.
More recently, asked at Dodgers.com about his off-season, Colletti said:
"At this stage, it’s not so much the big bat or the middle-of-the-order bat that we’re going to be able to acquire. It’s really the other pieces you need to have a chance to win games -- defense, speed, players that can back up and fill in and add to our depth."
At this point, offensive improvement is tied to a frightening series of "ifs" -- if Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and James Loney rebound, if Rafael Furcal stays healthy, if Uribe can approach his career season, if Casey Blake is not in unavoidable, age-driven decline, if Barajas can be effective a full season, if the patchwork in left is effective.
The Dodgers will have to collect on most of those "ifs" to provide enough offense to cash in on a strong rotation.
To be fair, there weren’t a whole lot of truly free-agent significant bats available this off-season. But the ones who could have made a difference -- Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, Adrian Beltre -- went elsewhere, albeit at inflated prices.
Which has left the Dodgers’ offense looking very familiar. And that’s an iffy proposition.
-- Steve Dilbeck
I would think Uribe's average of 16 HRs can be figured in as an improvement or upgrade in the offense but as you say Steve, it's not much.
But if the guy's can pick it up from last years weak second half it could turn things around.
Posted by: OldBrooklynFan | 01/04/2011 at 02:45 PM
"The bat" that Colletti is in search of, is sitting in the closet at Jermaine Dye's house, and it hasn't been used in a year and a half, so it's ready to go. Dye is a guy who will come in, play every day, give them a much better defense than Manny gave them, and even if you consider his defensive weakness, which could show because of his age and because he has been mostly a right fielder, his "bat" should more than compensate. Dye is a guy who can come in this season and bring 20 - 25 HR's and 65 - 80 RBI's, add that to Kemp, Ethier, Uribe and Loney (who will surprise) and the offense is much improved and strong enough to go with their starting rotation.
Posted by: Kiki Peraza | 01/04/2011 at 02:49 PM
A rinky-dink pile of crap offense: McCrap's Disgraced Dodgers.
Posted by: KoufaxFan | 01/04/2011 at 03:36 PM
Quit being so negative! It is what it is. I'm shocked we got anything this off season considering the ownership issues. If you just have faith maybe this team can play to their potential and feed off the positive energy. GO BLUE!
Posted by: Dodger Dude | 01/04/2011 at 03:36 PM
Same as 2010. Bunch of players. No Team. Only saving grace would be strong leadership. Frankie, Neddie and Donnie? I don't think so.
Posted by: LoveYaVin | 01/04/2011 at 03:40 PM
Ned Colletti should trade Matt Kemp.
.
I did.
Posted by: Rhianna | 01/04/2011 at 03:55 PM
Crawford is not a "big bat"—he's never hit even 20 HRs. Neither are Beltre and Werth "big bats"—they're somewhere between Casey Blake and Andre Ethier bats. Dunn is indeed a "big bat," but he is also Dave Kingman.
Posted by: kjp | 01/04/2011 at 04:16 PM
When The dodgers miss the playoffs again because of an obvious weakness, not filled will Coletti finally loose his job? Of course in desperation he will trade 6 prospects at the break first, but then can we rid ourselves of this tool? Yes, the ownership situation sucks, but the guy constructing the roster sucks even more.
Posted by: jason | 01/04/2011 at 04:42 PM
Let Gibbons play full left field. I bet he will hit over 20HR if you give him that chance.
Posted by: Arthur | 01/04/2011 at 06:28 PM
If "if's" were "5th's", we'd all be drunk...
Posted by: sangroazul | 01/04/2011 at 07:48 PM
Dunn was NOT at an inflated price. Would have fit PERFECTLY.
And Dodger Dude, did you really ask or tell us to have faith? Have faith in WHO? Furcal, the guy who is always injured/dogging it? Kemp, the I'm too cool for school for an entire season? Ethier, the guy who proved this his own dramatic moments WERE wayyy too much luck? Loney, one of the few in major league history who can hit 100 RBIs but still manage to be ineffective? Who are we supposed to have faith in again? JAMEY CARROL?
Posted by: BlueSangre | 01/04/2011 at 08:02 PM
Dye isn't a bad idea. He lives in Scottsdale so he can stay @ home when in Spring Training and hang with some of his White Sox ex teammates that share a spring training park with the Dodgers. Plus a flight from LA to Scottsdale is a little over an hour...
Here's an impossible idea but fun to come up with nontheless: Sign Rafeal Soriano (4 year 40M? Very backloaded as always...) and...
...3 team deal sending Broxton to Atlanta, Brave prospects (and maybe a Dodger prospect) to the Astros, and Carlos Lee (15M of the 2 year 37M owed paid by Houston) to the Dodgers LF. I know Lee seems on the decline and doesn't want to play on the West Coast but he will never win in Houston so maybe he'll be okay with just 2 seasons of trying to win in LA plus his no-trade clause ended in 2010. He's good for 25HRs and his defense isn't any worse than Manny's... Dodgers need a LF, Braves need a closer and the Astros need talented youth...
Just an idea...
Posted by: Darren | 01/04/2011 at 08:05 PM
If you're going to paraphrase Henley, go with the gem. The Boys of Summer have gone...
Posted by: DG | 01/04/2011 at 08:31 PM
The dodgers should go after Ryan Ludwick to fill that hole in left field.
Posted by: Luis | 01/04/2011 at 08:34 PM
hello remember jermain dye is out there manny is out there damon is out there there are alot of left fielder out there still looking for homes remember that
Posted by: tim | 01/05/2011 at 12:38 AM
It looks the like the heart of the Dodger offense will be Loney, Ethier, and Kemp, with Furcal setting the table, when he's not injured. If Kemp can bring it this year. If Ethier can return to top form. If Loney puts some more speed into his swing. If Furcal can stay healthy. If the Dodgers can find another tablesetter. Then, and only then, then, the Dodgers may rock.
Posted by: Steve Wimer | 01/05/2011 at 01:46 AM
have just 2 words for the LF issue: Xavier Paul......
put him in LF & leave him there, & also batting second in the order
Posted by: Xfactor | 01/05/2011 at 06:20 AM
First of all, should we have got the big bats? Crawford has good defense and speed NOW, but will he be worth over $20 million in four or five seasons? And can he give the Dodgers power? No, he's a great player, but not the best use of their money. Werth was overpaid. Dunn would have given us excellent power, but I also look at what the Reds, Diamondbacks and Nationals have achieved with him in their lineup -- nothing. The Diamondbacks faded in the race after they acquired him as a reaction to the Dodgers getting Manny.
I'd be interested to see Dye play, he could put up solid numbers. And you have to let Ethier and Kemp go out and see if they can put up better numbers. Before he got hurt last season, Ethier was the hottest hitter in the game. So considering what's out there now, it also makes sense to wait into spring training and see how Gibbons and Gwynn play, and if they're not cutting it, then look into making a trade during the season.
Posted by: neoncactus | 01/05/2011 at 06:34 AM
By my quick calculations, last year's offensive juggernaut did the following:
.
0 Runs - 17
1 Run - 21
2 Runs - 19
3 Runs - 19
.
That's 35% the time that they scored 2 runs or less, and 47% of the time scoring 3 runs or less. All they've done is swap Uribe for Manny and Gwynn for Theriot. Unless Kemp and Ethier become Ruth and Gehrig, I don't see this club managing any better than last year's production.
.
I have to agree with the last sentence of Jason's post wholeheartedly.
Posted by: Labeldude | 01/05/2011 at 08:38 AM
The Dodgers once again prove why they are becoming a laughingstock under McCort. They start reasonably well in addressing major needs on the pitching staff but then make no real move to improve their dismal offense. The Dodgers always have at least 3 auto-outs in their batting order and no championship team can win anything like that. Casey Blake is a stiff, no second baseman to speak of unless Uribe plays there, the catching position has been a hole, no lefty relievers of note and no power in the middle of the lineup. The Dodgers should have traded Loney away and gone hard after Dunn. Loney is Mark Grace without the batting average or on base percentage and that's basically a slap hitter.
Posted by: DB | 01/05/2011 at 08:57 AM
What are the optimists going to do when this 2nd-division offense lets good pitching go to waste with another year leading all of baseball in being shut out?
STOP GOING TO THE GAMES. Like the rest of us who can already smell the carcass of a mediocre also-ran. To build the annoying quality of this roster, on the day-after xmas, the Dodger GM took McCourt's wallet to the dollar store.
The less we go, the sooner the frauds go away who have run this franchise into again hovering over the NL West dungeon. Don't fall for the management-friendly media propaganda the payroll is $110 million. That figure includes players getting deferred money who do not play in LA any more. Which means if the Padres had a player on the permanent disabled list they owed $70 million to, this year they too would be counted boasting a payroll of $100 million. In truth the Dodgers are closer to Frank's player payroll figures made several years ago, as revealed in the divorce papers: Under $91 million, a figure NOT competitive with littler markets than ours who are serious about winning a pennant. The figures can lie, but the players' stats don't. The cumulative .247 "hit" by the new players Ned bought is insulting to the memory of Dodger baseball.
Want the Dodgers to get better? Don't contribute a penny to the worthless owners. Want to help the Dodgers without attending? Help the rest of LA crowbar them out by spreading the word BOYCOTT.
Posted by: Native Angeleno | 01/05/2011 at 09:07 AM
I'm in with the Dye crowd. It shouldn't be an overly-expensive experiment.
Posted by: BlueinAZ | 01/05/2011 at 09:53 AM
The Dodgers will be a much better team next season. Jensen as the closer, Broxton as the set up, then Kuo the 7th inn. Even without a big power guy in the middle, they have big enough bats to produce runs. They will pick up someone needed to finalize the 4th and 5th starter rotation. Ned Colletti stated he will be increasing the Dodgers salary cap for 2011. The Giants and Padres will be the trash of the division, watch out of AZ and Col. Kemp,Ethier, Kershaw, and Baraja will have their career yr in 2011.
Posted by: The Truth | 01/05/2011 at 11:20 AM
I see where Art Moreno could have got a big bat for the Angels but he didn`t want to raise the ticket prices. An owner who thinks of the fans.What a rarity. Hey Arte just be shameless like frank, raise them anyway. The Suckers will keep coming. If anyone knows this it is the bobbsy twins franky and neddy. Like Barnum and Bailey they will continue to squeeze and b.s.the fans all the way to the bank.. And don`t forget the other Gwynn(Chris not Tony) is available... Oh Goody I sent my check for season tickets....
Posted by: Jim McVeigh | 01/05/2011 at 04:08 PM
calling jermaine dye a liability in the outfield is a friggin compliment.
stop reading his old press clippings.
while he hit 27 dingers in 09, many came at hitter friendly us cellular field in chicago.
he'll pop out in LA.
plus, he's a right fielder -- and not a good one (i saw him play -- not good).
Posted by: booch | 01/05/2011 at 06:05 PM
JERMAINE DYE! This one is a no brainer!
Posted by: bluz1st | 01/07/2011 at 08:33 AM
I'm puzzled how Beltre came away with another inflated deal in both dollars and years. Beltre always excels in the final year of a contract and after he signs the new contract he "dogs" it and you see very little production at the plate. He's had 2 great years offensively and both of those years was the final year of a contract. I will admit he is a very good defensive third basemen but you don't pay the kind of bucks for 5 years of defense at third and 1 year of offense.
Posted by: Don Dukeman | 01/07/2011 at 09:30 AM
fielder was available,why they did not get him
Posted by: stan | 01/11/2011 at 06:30 AM