It's Thanksgiiviing

The Angels laid all the Torii Hunter speculation to waste Wednesday night, swooping in undetected to get the centerfielder (with a stunner of a five-year, $90 million contract) just like they did with the now underpaid Vladimir Guerrero.

Can you believe Gary Matthews Jr. and Juan Pierre may now both spend time in left field?

Regardless, no doubt this will heighten speculation about what the Dodgers will do. Me, I'm going to spend this holiday the same way I always intended - hoping the Dodgers are rational in whatever they do without wasting a minute trying to predict, because you can't predict. You can only hope that the turkey's juicy and that somehow, some way, you get a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks.

Comments

[Bumsrap]

1.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

[timm]

2.  Interesting how the Angels have gone from "No changes Bill" to "Let's make a Deal Tony".

[Rob M]

3.  Thanks Tony Reagins, and happy Thanksgiving to all you folks.

[Bumsrap]

4.  3--Thanks, as in one down, one less poor choice for Ned?

[Ken Noe]

5.  Happy Thanksgiving all, thanks for letting me join in.

[Bumsrap]

6.  I am happy today because first, I choose to be happy, and second, for what the Dodgers haven't done this off-season.

[LAbits]

7.  Send a subsidized Pierre back to Florida with Kershaw/McDonald and La Roche for Cabrera (less competition now), perhaps sign Rowand and you have a hugely improved club with depth that needs one more starting pitcher.

[Chuck Churn]

8.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

In the last thread, someone suggested that we could get Miggy and a position player from the Fish for LaRoche, Pierre and some cash.

That would be such a spectacularly good deal for the Dodgers that it would easily make up for all of Ned's other mistakes.

That is why I think it will never happen. The Fish are going to want Kemp and/or Kershaw.

[Andrew Shimmin]

9.  LaRoche, Pierre, and Powerball tickets would be even better.

[Bumsrap]

10.  7 - subsidized Pierre = a Pierre with a better arm and obp?

[Bumsrap]

11.  Not that I want any Dodgers connected with Boras, but I wouldn't mind Turkey Day bringing Beltre back to the Dodgers for Pierre and LaRoche instead of Cabrera for too many young players I would enjoy watching play for the Dodgers.

[bhsportsguy]

12.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

1. Marty enjoy the sprouts.
2. Daniel, have fun baking.
3. Bob, your apple pie looks good.
4. Greg Brock, enjoy the day off.

[deburns]

13.  Happy Thanksgiving to all. We can be thankful that we still have the young studs (or studs to be) and haven't made any foolish moves (yet). And we are in a position to cater to our obsessions, including the one I'm catering to as I type.

[ChicagoDodger]

14.  11 You started your trade scenario with Pierre, a clever way to get "any" Dodger fan to agree with, but LaRoche is one of those young players I would enjoy watching as well. Just dump Pierre, anyway they can! Keep the young kids!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Greg Brock]

15.  I'm thankful for Law and Order marathons.

[Suffering Bruin]

16.  15 I'll be watching. Why? I'm home for the first time, ever. I've got a fever of 101 and that means... well, that means no Thanksgiving for me. I have requested that the wife bring me a small mountain of food.

I'm putting this in bold, folks: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on this wonderful blog and thanks for contributing to this wonderful blog and Jon, thanks for creating this wonderful blog.

With many thanks...

[Marty]

17.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Everyone be safe out there. My Lab is running up hospital bills again, so have a have a turkey leg for him, I know I will.

[kinbote]

18.  I'm thankful we haven't signed Aaron Rowand to a 6 year/$102mil contract . . . yet.

[Sushirabbit]

19.  Happy TD, DT.

I got my nap in already. :-)

[ToyCannon]

20.  The Clippers are not going to win a lot of games but every once in a while they make a bizarre effort. Denver was just about the hottest team in baseketball, the Clippers who were already playing without Brand and Livy, added Corey Magette to the injured list. Brevin Knight pulled a groin during the game so Sam Cassel who was nursing the Flu had to play, while Cutino Mobley is playing with his own groin problem.

So of coure the Clippers blasted Denver behind Chris Kaman.

Go figure

[Bumsrap]

21.  18 - Rowand and his disconcerting batting stance.

[willhite]

22.  Happy Thanksgiving all. Sorry to hear about your Lab Marty. We have a Golden Retriever and I'm afraid we're going to be in for some bills soon also.

Labs and Retrievers are the best companions in the world. Worth all the bills and far better teammates than overpaid centerfielders.

[Bumsrap]

23.  14 - I included LaRoche because any trade for a third baseman hurts LaRoche's opportunity to play unless he is part of that trade.

[ChicagoDodger]

24.  23 I understand. But, are we absolutely certain Cabrera remains a third basemen? Isn't he a left-fielder in waiting? Or a DH in waiting?

[Terry A]

25.  16 - My three-year-old has the same temp, so I'm home with him. Only instead of watching L&O marathons, we're watching Word World and (as a sign he's truly sick) Barney.

17 - All the best, Marty.

[GoBears]

26.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. This little community is one of the things I am thankful for. Thanks to Jon especially, but to all the regulars who regularly crack me up 'round these parts as well. I have been too busy to participate much lately, but I think I've read every comment (usually long after they were posted).

This is the first year I've not traveled for the holiday since high school. Most of my family is now in Northern Cal, and I decided a couple years ago that the drive up (and especially back) was not worth it. One year, it took 14 hours to drive from the Bay Area. This year, the NorCal contingent made the same decision. So Mrs. GoBears and I are spending the day with friends. The commute will be to cross Pico Blvd. Good times.

I'm sorry to hear about the pooch, Marty. Mine started my day today by insinuating herself under the covers, plopping her head on the pillow, and snoring in my face until I arose and she could have the whole bed to herself. She takes up a lot of space for a beagle.

[ChicagoDodger]

27.  23 My bad. I had Cabrera on the brain when responding. Your trade was for Beltre. In any event, I'd rather keep LaRoche then acquire Beltre. I think LaRoche will be better, and he is alot cheaper! For now.

[Disabled List]

28.  8 In the last thread, someone suggested that we could get Miggy and a position player from the Fish for LaRoche, Pierre and some cash.

I think we could get the Marlins to go for this if we threw in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and a leprechaun to be named later.

[ChicagoDodger]

29.  28 I think we could get the Marlins to go for this if we threw in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and a leprechaun to be named later.

I would do that deal! Get it done Ned!

[KG16]

30.  Happy Turkey Day everyone. Traveling this year, for the first time so I've missed my traditional football game for the first time since high school, little strange in that regard.

As for Hunter, I saw it on the crawl on ESPN and was really surprised, didn't think the Angels would be looking that way. Still, probably a good fit for them.

[willhite]

31.  Now that Hunter is off the market, a few more teams may be looking at Rowand. Andruw is tied to Boras. What if Ned doesn't get either of these guys? Does that mean if we still have Kemp that he becomes the centerfielder? Does Ned go after Cameron? Does he swallow hard and put JP back in center?

[Bob Timmermann]

32.  15
I guess Greg Brock wasn't visited by three ghosts last night:
1) Miles Standish - Ghost of Thanksgiving Past
2) Pete Carroll - Ghost of Thanskgiving Present
3) Miguel Cabrera - Ghost of Thanksgivings yet to be

[Chuck Churn]

33.  I have come around to believing that we are better off passing on Miggy and going for pitching. Santana, Bedard, Snell, Blanton, and Haren are apparently all available for the right exchange. All of the great Dodger teams were built on pitching. Our first three starters are fine but Schmidt may not recover and Loaiza looked terrible last season. Lowe seemed to decline last year, too.

[willhite]

34.  33 -

I wonder what it would take to get Snell? I really like him. Not a big fan of Blanton's. Santana and Bedard are both great but I always worry about trading half the team for a pitcher. Much greater injury risk than a position player.

[Lexinthedena]

35.  33- If we trade a package involving LaRoche for pitching, then we are stuck with Nomar/Abreu at third next season...unless of course Ned over pays for Scott Rolen, which I wouldn't put past him....

[Chuck Churn]

36.  If we opt for pitching and give up on acquiring a third sacker, we can keep LaRoche.

[popup]

37.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Stan from Tacoma

[Daniel Zappala]

38.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May you eat lots of good food and have a good time with your family and friends.

[trainwreck]

39.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at DT.

And Happy Thursday to our international posters.

[Johnson]

40.  Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Thanksgiiviing to all!

[Bob Loblaw]

41.  I awoke with admiration on my mind:
- Ned has managed to keep our prospects. I kinda feel that if he hasn't traded them yet (Kemp,Kershaw,LaRoche), maybe he won't trade them at all.
- and the Angels stealthiness. Both the Garland and Hunter deals were generally unexpected, and they have also held onto their prospects. But I will be surprised if they don't trade some prospects for either Cabrera or Tejada.

Here's wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at DodgerThoughts!

[dzzrtRatt]

42.  To Jon and to all DTers, Happy Thanksgiving. You're a fun bunch.

I assume none of you will be at Mervyn's tomorrow at 4 a.m.?

[D Money]

43.  - Ned has managed to keep our prospects. I kinda feel that if he hasn't traded them yet (Kemp,Kershaw,LaRoche), maybe he won't trade them at all.

we havent even got to the winter meetings yet.... thats when the trades usually start.

and a few more FA probably need to be signed before the trade talks get serious.

[D Money]

44.  from ESPN

In our surveys of teams looking for center fielders, Jones was already third on most lists, behind Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand. And that was before they even considered money.

"The big worry on Andruw is, his body is starting to scare people," said an official of one team that went into the winter shopping for center fielders. "You look at the body type, and you wonder: What are you getting? The question we were asking a few months ago was, 'Torii or Andruw?' But now Torii has gone way by him. I go back to bodies and conditioning. And based on that alone, I'd bet on Torii as the guy more likely to give you more productive years than Andruw, even though Andruw is younger."

[Greg Brock]

45.  To all of you Dodger fans in Canada...Get back to work.

[das411]

46.  Thank you to Jon and Bob and Ken for all of the awesome work they do here at the Toaster...and to Mr. Ned for keeping it interesting!

[ToyCannon]

47.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone including Grinch Brock.

I think I butchered the deviled eggs so hopefully everyone will just be polite and pretend to like them and throw them away in the toilet.

[Daniel Zappala]

48.  Best part of Thanksgiving is getting to use your brother-in-law's iPhone.

[Bob Timmermann]

49.  I have stumbled across a basketball game between NC State and Rider in Orlando that appears to have a crowd of about 200 people watching it.

Rider is ahead by 9. trainwreck is wondering if the ACC will expel NC State if they lose this game.

[trainwreck]

50.  I am busy watching Mississippi St vs UC Irvine.

[trainwreck]

51.  I am also watching a replay of Adams State vs Arizona.

Lute ain't coming back.

[fanerman]

52.  What a nice start to Thanksgiving, seeing Torii Hunger signing with the Angels! Happy Thanksgiving!

[27indigo]

53.  I'm definitely thankful Ned can't sign Torii Hunter!
I can't wait to be thankful that Kemp, Kershaw, LaRoche, and company will still be here come spring.

[Jason in Canada]

54.  Indeed, indeed I am sitting here at work coveting a turkey dinner here in the great white north. I'm actually from the San Fernando valley until 5 years ago when I moved to Canada for my lovely bride.

I'm very thankful for this wonderful blog Jon and all the hilarious, witty folk that make it great. I am also thankful for the 12 rules over on the right side that keep it that way!

Go Dodgers!!

[Strike4]

55.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. My holiday wish is for all remaining turkeys to keep out of the Dodger clubhouse.

[Linkmeister]

56.  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Among other things I'm thankful for, my dog is recovering well from her surgery and I'm happy there's a Dodgers forum like this.

Off to play "Alice's Restaurant." It's a tradition.

[scareduck]

57.  17 , 22 - speaking as somebody who had two dogs contract cancer at the same time, I understand what you mean. You write the checks and hope for the best. (Actually, we charge it on Discover and get a 1% rebate because we pay off our balance every month. But the principle's the same.)

[bigcpa]

58.  57 At first I thought you were talking about two dog contracts (Hunter & Matthews). That was weird.

[D4P]

59.  Happy Thanksgiving from "upstate" New York.

I saw none other than Dick Enberg at the Raleigh-Durham airport this morning. He looks older in person, and was wearing glasses (which I've never seen on him).

[jasonungar07]

60.  Happy Turkey Day..Be safe everyone..

[jasonungar07]

61.  Happy Turkey Day..Be safe everyone..

[Daniel Zappala]

62.  57 But the principal is different.

[Kingmans Performance]

63.  42

I'm in for Mervyn's, but around 9am.

Mom's got the employee discount of 15%
on top of the Black Friday discounts.

See you DT'ers down there.

[old dodger fan]

64.  I have a niece who will be in line at Circuit City at 1 am (they open at 5) tomorrow. Ugh!!

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Marty]

65.  I have never shopped the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I hope I never do.

[willhite]

66.  65 -

I did it once, and it was enough to last me a lifetime.

[StolenMonkey86]

67.  64 - George Mason's playing on ESPN2 at 9p ET, so that's not an option for me unless I pass on sleeping.

[scareduck]

68.  62 - not knowing what kinds of diseases Link's dogs have, I can't comment. But I can say that Labs get all kinds of ailments, including dysplasia (of the hip and elbow, both of which are usually detected early) and cancer. And yeah, radiation and chemo ain't cheap. But who's a good boy? Ohhh, who's a goood boy? Wanna go for a walk? C'mon!

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2007/09/ot-worth-every-penny.html

[Sammy Maudlin]

69.  Happy Thanksgiving Folks! I thankful I haven't seen a headline that read "Pedro Feliz signs 6 year 117 million dollar with Dodgers"

[Linkmeister]

70.  68 She's a 15-year-old pointer. Here's a picture of her (this event took place about two months ago):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56759872@N00/2024030120/

She just had about seven "growths" removed from her skin, and we're waiting for biopsy results on two of them. She seems oblivious to that worry.

[Marty]

71.  This time it's pancreatitus. They've got him on intravenous fluids for a couple days. I hope to get him back tomorrow.

[Linkmeister]

72.  70 Updating myself: from the time stamp on the photo (I scanned it from a film print) it was July of this year, so four months ago.

[Marty]

74.  I can't believe how depressed my other dog is. She has barely gotten off the bed today.

[Paul Scott]

73.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Go Cowboys!

[Daniel Zappala]

75.  I've been on several black Friday shopping trips. When our kids were young, and we were poor, I'd get up very early, a list of stores and items all prepared, and then make the rounds as best as I could, calling an audible whenever an item was sold out. It helped to be thinking of the sacrifice being worth it when the kids ripped off the wrapping paper. Still, I'm glad I don't do it any more.

[Greg Brock]

76.  Daniel's like the best father ever.

If something was sold out, my parents wrote me a note saying "We'll get it later. Why don't you cry about it, Nancy?"

Well, something to that effect.

[Dodgers49]

77.  Twins part ways with Hunter

>> Hunter said that he was "very" close to completing a deal with Chicago. The White Sox offered Hunter a deal around five years, $75 million. The Rangers put a five-year, $75 million dollar deal on the table with a club option for a sixth year in hopes of attracting Hunter to play near his offseason home, which is in Prosper, Texas. And the Royals made a five-year, $75 million offer as well.

The deal that that Hunter eventually agreed to with the Angels was nearly twice what the Twins had offered. <<

## Smith wouldn't get into specifics about possible targets for center field but said that the club will explore the free-agent market and trade options to find a center fielder. ##

http://tinyurl.com/yq4fsr

[Brian Y]

78.  On Orioleshangout.com they have all sorts of trade scenarios with the Dodgers and they all seem to agree that a Pierre/Hu/LaRoche for Bedard and Payton would be fair. Actually they seem genuinely excited to think about that deal since Payton is in the final year at $5M and they take on Pierre with Hu/LaRoche basically being worth Bedard.

I would do that deal and I absolutely love LaRoche and Hu but I think we have depth. Possibly switch out LaRoche with DeWitt and I'd be ecstatic. If only it were true!

[natepurcell]

79.  78

Ive been reading their forum for a bit and they all have this idea that they are going to get Kemp/Kershaw/Laroche for Bedard.

[Brian Y]

80.  Here's what I would do if I were GM and of course other GM's were willing.

Trade for Bedard and Payton for DeWitt, Hu, Pierre, and Stults.

Sign Andruw Jones for 1yr $18M with $2M in bonuses so he can jack up his price for next year and we can try for someone else. Then we have a year to see Delwyn and gage if he can play and move Kemp to CF.

Sign Fukudome for 4yrs $32M (if possible)
Sign Kuroda for 5yrs $52M

Trade Loaiza to DET for Nate Robertson

Trade LaRoche, Ethier, Meloan, Elbert, Brazoban, Greg Miller, Robertson for Miguel Cabrera

SP: Penny, Bedard, Billingsley, Lowe, Kuroda

RP: Saito, Broxton, Proctor, Schmidt, Hull/Houlton, Beimel, Kuo

Line-Up:
SS Furcal
C Martin
3B Cabrera
CF Jones
1B Loney
RF Kemp
LF Fukudome
2B Abreu

UT D.Young
PH Sweeney
OF Payton
IF Wilson Valdez or FA
C Rene Rivera (maybe?)

[Dodgers49]

81.  Why would Barry Bonds name his company after Jeff Kent? :-)

Bonds' Former Friends Set to Testify

>> Bonds made Hoskins his business manager and they launched a company called Kent Collectibles to sell Bonds' memorabilia. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2uzwqp

[scareduck]

82.  70 - old dogs get those. Likely nothing to worry about.

[old dodger fan]

83.  Thanks for the dog pics. Hope all goes well. We got a mixed lab from the shelter 2 years ago and he is a real blessing to our family.

I hope everyone here is having a great Thanksgiving and able to reflect on all the good things in our lives.

[Sam DC]

84.  If you haven't watched Tom 'n Jerry in a while, you'd be surprised just how good it is.

(Yeah, my kids are asleep. What of it?)

[Bob Timmermann]

85.  UCLA's Rose Bowl hopes are still alive!

In Osaar we trust!

(Note: suspension of disbelief is required. Offer void in California and Oregon.)

[63Dodger]

86.  We drove out to Joshua Tree, sat on the rocks and ate turkey sandwiches while watching all the rock climbers. First non-traditional Thanksgiving, and while I love all the cooking and big spread, this was so relaxing! I'm thankful for national parks, desert beauty, the Dodgers, and this blog. Thanks Jon and everyone who bleeds blue!

[Disabled List]

87.  Brined turkey roasted in rosemary and sage + maple sausage stuffing + homemade pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream = DL in a blissful food coma.

I'm living up to my DT handle tonight. I'm on the couch and not moving for the rest of the night unless the house is on fire. Even then, I'll wait for the fire department to order me out.

Hope everyone else is having a happy and satisfying thanksgiving.

[Jon Weisman]

88.  Ken Levine has a post about Jan Smithers. He went to Taft with her. He mentions her falling on hard times. Googlenewsing reveals a sad story if true.

[Andrew Shimmin]

89.  The PR Inside story had a big honking picture of Barbra Streisand, whom they helpfully explained is the wife of Smithers' ex-husband. So, of course the picture would be of her.

[Dodgers49]

90.  Hunter probably not the last piece

>> By signing Hunter, the Angels could more easily absorb the loss of hard-hitting second baseman Howie Kendrick, whom the Marlins are insisting be part of a trade with the Angels for Cabrera. Florida would also like catcher Jeff Mathis, pitching prospect Nick Adenhart and one of the Angels' three young starters, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver or Joe Saunders. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2rwqyd

[Chuck Churn]

91.  My completely subjective ranking of Dodger trade names, from least expendable to most expandable:

Kemp
Loney
Kershaw
LaRoche
Abreu
Hu
Meloan
MacDonald
Elbert
DeWitt
Pierre

Note: Other names have been mentioned in posts as potential trade bait, like Stults, Houlton, and others. But I would classify these guys as potential roster cuts with no real trade value, despite our wishful thinking.

And my completely subjective ranking of trade target names, in descending order, starting with best pick up:

Santana
Bedard
Miggy
Haren
Snell
Tejada
Blanton

Posters might quibble with these rankings but the key for Ned will be to leave the top names on the first list alone while acquiring players from the second list (preferably, from the top).

[Chuck Churn]

92.  Apologies. In first paragraph, meant to say "least expendable to most expendable."

"Expandable" would describe girth of Miggy and Blanton.

[gpellamjr]

93.  91 Is Tejada even good anymore?

[Chuck Churn]

94.  Good question. That is why I have ranked him near the bottom.

[Bumsrap]

95.  If this team cannot win, where would anyone make a change?

C - martin
1b - Loney
2b - Kent/Abreu
3b - Nomar/LaRoche
ss - Furcal/Hu
lf - Peirre/Young
cf - Kemp/Repko
rf - Ethier/Kemp

The first place I would try to tweak is 2b by trading for Ian Kinsler. Perhaps Kent and Abreu for Kinsler.

Left field would be my next place to tweak. Maybe trying to get Jason Bay in exchange for Pierre, Young/Ethier, and a pitcher.

[Ken Noe]

96.  It's November 23. Do you know where your second baseman is? I'm starting to wonder if Kent is playing chicken--waiting to see if Colletti makes the trades Kent wants before he announces a comeback.

[CanuckDodger]

97.  95 -- I think both of those ideas are quite bad. Kent will probably have another year like his last, so he will be better offensively than Kinsler, and we'll just have to put up with the bad defense for one more season. Come 2009, I believe Abreu is going to hit for a better average than Kinsler year in and year out, but won't walk as much, the power will be about the same (Kinsler's Arlington HR total is obviously inflated), and Abreu's defense will be superior. I wouldn't trade Abreu for Kinsler straight up. As for Jason Bay, forget that. Ethier's 2007 was much better than Bay's, and Ethier is just entering his prime mid-20's years, while Bay's have just ended. I pegged Bay years ago as a guy whose productive years might not last long, as he sort of fluked into prospecthood, and he may now be past his peak.

The only thing we should do with the offense is get rid of Pierre in a trade, even if we eat a lot of money and get nothing of value in return, and sign Rowand or Jones to play CF. Playing LaRoche and benching Nomar at 3B would also be good, but that just takes the will to do it rather than a transaction.

[Duranimal]

98.  I am thankful we did not sign Hunter. The 2008 Bill James book has Hunter's runs created per 9 innings at 5.44. Kemp's is 7.06. Kemp's is actually higher than Beltran's 6.73. Ned, please don't feel like you have to make a move to make a move!

Also, although there's lots of talk about a busy off season with trades, it seems to me that one reason there's so few trades these days is that GMs know they can get fired for a bad trade. However, a bad free agent signing just don't have the same stigma.

[Bluebleeder87]

99.  If anything it gets him off our hands (Hunter) his defense is pretty solid but I rather the Dodgers go after A.Jones. It's the first I've heard of the news so I'm very very happy the Angels snagged him from us.

[Bluebleeder87]

100.  97

Once again, great write up Canuck.