Pretty good article on ESPN asking who you'd rather have over the next 5 years: Kershaw or Bumgarner. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of Kershaw. However, the question is "over the next 5 years." You know who I'd take, especially in the playoffs, where Kershaw wouldn't crack my top 5. But an interesting debate, nonetheless -- ala Manning and Brady. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11832864/clayton-kershaw-madison-bumgarner
Dodgers new Front Office: President of Basketball Operations- Andrew Friedman General Manager- Farhan Zaidi Scout Supervisor and Player Development- Josh Byrnes Player Development Director- Gabe Kapler Amateur Scouting Director- Billy Gasparino Team President and CEO- Stan Kasten Senior Advisor- Ned Colletti http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/...abe-kapler-josh-byrnes-billy-gasparino-110714
You can't really go wrong, but honestly I'd probably go Bumgarner if I was objective. Being absolutely and completely biased I'd go with Kershaw and I don't think either of us would really be wrong. Kershaw has a mental block in the playoffs against the Cardinals, but otherwise he's been the best pitcher in the MLB since Koufax. I'm not going to judge him too harshly for what amounts to a couple of bad games at this stage in his career. There's still time.
Pretty interesting tweet by Ken Rosenthal "Sources: #Dodgers aggressively trying to move Kemp, Crawford or Ethier. Puig not in play."
Shed salary and free up space for Pederson. We all saw it coming. The only really, really interesting part to me is that Kemp is up on the block too. I guess though he's the one who could give us the best return...
The best "return" would be keeping Kemp, paying $$$ to give away Ethier, and then bringing up Joc Pederson. I still think Kemp and Crawford have value. Both have speed and both can hit, especially in big games. Ethier is just about done, and I wouldn't mind seeing him on the bench full-time even with $17M in his backpocket every year. With this large of a payroll, it's actually almost a miracle we don't have that many long-term bloated and useless salaries.
I agree. I'd do what I can to keep Kemp, but I think these new guys are going to look at Out Fielders as mostly easy to replace compared to their other positions like Short Stop and Catcher. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we make a run at a stopgap SS and Russell Martin at C. I think Russell would come back to LA even though I wasn't a huge fan of his when he was here.
It's easy to vote Bumgarner just after he won a WS MVP, but remember, people were so willingly wanting to trade Kobe for guys like Paul Pierce when Boston was hot (I was one of them ), or a combination of Jason Williams and Chris Webber when the Kings were hot. I'd still put my money on Kershaw and hoping he'll bounce back again next year. Lots of stars (like LeBron) take a while before they get settled in and play well on the big stage.
Yeah, their idea of building a winning team is way more complex than I could ever imagine. If Friedman can turn a perennial 65-win team into a perennial 90+ win team in just a couple short years, then whatever they say goes, pretty much.
I'm conflicted on Kemp. We finally saw Kemp play up to potential in the 2nd half, but the guy never stays healthy for long. I'm thinking now is the perfect time to trade him.
That could be what they're looking for too. If we can get a good return on him, I'd pull the trigger honestly. It'll be interesting to see how the team rebuilds chemistry though. Kemp and Hanley are fantastic teammates if nothing else. They've been a big part of the hear t in this team. Who steps up in their absence?
Good luck Boston. He's still got life left in his bat, but his defense cost Clayton a Perfect Game and heck could have been key in the Playoffs too.
Pablo is elite in the playoffs and World Series, but his production has fallen in the regular season the last 5 years. Some time at DH will help, but if they think he's gonna be productive, at that size, in 5 years they're fooling themselves. IMO, they overspent. I hate to see him go, but SF is wise to spend that $$$ elsewhere. I also find it funny that Boston criticizes NY for buying a winner and they go out and do this. Especially when we all know the Dodgers will be trading for these 2 guys in 3 years when they're a shell of their former selves.
lol still taking shots. Adrian Gonzalez is still as good as ever and Crawford is still effective enough to play a good left field. Past their primes? Maybe, but not over the hill. And we want nothing to do with Hanley... that's why we let him go? New GM, new philosophy. You'll probably be seeing Seager at some point this season.
If Hanley played as well as Gonzo, and Pablo hit his stride like Crawford, why not have them back? Anyway, yes, new GM, new philosophies, so we'll see what happens from here on out.
Well in two years we'll have Kemp, Puig, and Pederson in the outfield. Seager at SS with Dee. Adrian at 1st... Which one of Hanley or Panda plays 3rd for us and which one sits on the bench?
