Familiar Faces in New Places - Barajas, Broxton, Carroll, Blake & Kuroda

Rod Barajas signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the off season.  Barajas is due to make $4 million dollars in 2012 and $3.5 million in 2013 if the Pirates pick up the option.

Jonathan Broxton signed a 1-year $4 million dollar contract with the Kansas City Royals for 2012.  Broxton finished his seven season Dodger career with a 25-20 record with a 3.19 ERA and 84 saves. He made the NL All Star roster in 2009 and 2010.  However, in 2011 he made only 14 appearances and Javy Guerra became the Dodger closer.

Hiroki Kuroda signed a 1-year $10 million dollar contract to join the New York Yankees.  Kuroda finished his 4-year stint with the Dodgers with a record of 41-46 and a 3.45 ERA in 114 starts.

Jamey Carroll took his talents to the Twin Cities and signed a 2-year $6.5 million dollar deal with the Twins.  Carroll was a scrappy player for the Dodgers and hit .290 in his two seasons with the club.  He'll be missed in the clubhouse and became a fan favorite last year for his hustle and hard play.

Casey Blake shown above with Troy Tulowitzki signed a 1-year $2 million dollar deal with the Rockies.  He can earn another $1 million in incentives.  Blake was a fan favorite in his 3 1/2 years with the Dodgers and helped lead the team to the playoffs in 2008 after they acquired him from the Indians on July 26, 2008.  The 38-year old Blake was on the disabled list three times in 2011 and it remains to be seen whether he can bounce back from neck surgery.  Unfortunately, if he does bounce back it will be with the Colorado Rockies.

I think the Dodgers will miss Kuroda the most of these 5 players.  Coming off surgery, combined with his on the field struggles, I think it was a no brainer for the club to with Broxton luck in his future endeavors.  It's debatable whether the Dodgers should have tried harder to resign Barajas.  While his offensive numbers weren't great, he was a good clubhouse guy and handled the staff well. However, the Dodgers didn't do much to upgrade the position in the off season.  They head into Spring Training with A.J. Ellis as the starter and veteran Matt Treanor as the back-up. 

Carroll and Blake were good influences in the clubhouse but with the Dodgers ownership in turmoil, the team is going with cheaper options.  Kuroda was a work horse for the Dodgers and even refused to waive his no-trade clause late last season because he wanted to fulfill his contract with the Dodgers.  When the Dodgers did not pursue him aggressively over the winter, he took $10 million to join the Yankees rotation.  At 37-years old, Kuroda may not have more than 1 or 2 seasons left in his arm, so it was a pretty smart move to sign with a team that is in the World Series hunt year after year.

Which former Dodger will you miss the most?

True to the Blue! 

 

Jonathan Broxton Officially Done For The Season

Dodger Manager Don Mattingly and Head Trainer Stan Conte made it official today, Jonathan Broxton is done for the 2011 season.  According to Tony Jackson of ESPNLA, "Broxton threw off a mound on Monday for the first time since being placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 6 with what was termed a bone bruise in his right elbow."

However, due to the 2011 season being done on September 28th, there isn't enough time for Broxton to get ready to pitch this season.  This will likely mean the end of Broxton's career as a Dodger.  His final stats for 2011 are - 12.2 innings pitched, 15 hits, 10 runs, 8 earned runs, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts, 1 win, 2 losses, 7 saves, 1  blown save and an era of 5.68.

While his saves to blown saves ratio wasn't too bad, we all know Broxton has never been the same since giving up a home run to Matt Stairs of the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS.  Whether it was confidence or injuries, Broxton was never his dominate self again.

Early this season when Broxton was struggling, I would always ask, what better options did the Dodgers have?  At the time, Kenley Jansen was struggling, Hong-Chih Kuo had the yips and Javy "The Bullfighter" Guerra wasn't on anyone's radar yet.  Fast forward to the present day.  Guerra has a 2-0 record this season with 18 saves, 1 blown save and a decent 1.99 era.  Jansen, after early season struggles and dealing with an irregular heartbeat has been stellar in his last 20+ appearances.  For a closer look at Jansen's dominance, take a look at Evan's post at opinionofkingmansperformance.

Broxton will be a free agent when the season ends and will likely not be resigned with the club.  Big John will finish his Dodger career with a 25-20 record, 503 strikeouts, 84 saves and two All-Star appearances in 2009 & 2010.  If we have in fact seen the last of Jonathan Broxton in a Dodger uniform, I wish him well.  He frustrated us but also gave us some excitement.  It may just be time to move on.

True to the Blue!

Friday Web Round Up - Kershaw All-Star?, Matt Kemp record, The Best of the Freeway Series

Clayton Kershaw talks about his All-Star chances with Nischelle Turner on foxsportswest.com

Steve Dilbeck discusses Matt Kemp & Davey Lopes sharing a Dodger record latimes.com

Sam Miller comments on the greatest moments from the Freeway Series ocregister

Jonathan Broxton strikes out the side in his latest rehab assignment Dodgers.com

Dodger Players Sign Autographs to Benefit Tornado Relief - Recap

Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium was Cooler Bag Night as the Dodgers took on the visiting Chicago Cubs.  While the Dodgers took the loss, Andre Ethier was able to extend his hitting streak to 29-games.  Before the game several Dodgers were in Autograph Alley signing autographs to benefit Tornado Relief.  This was my first experience in Autograph Alley and I must say I was impressed.

When I reached the area behind centerfield at about 5:30pm, the line was pretty long just to get into the Autograph Alley area.  Once I reached the inside area, we were informed Lance Cormier & Jon Garland were at table 1.  Hiroki Kuroda was at table 2, Jonathan Broxton & Matt Guerrier were at table 3 and Clayton Kershaw and Blake Hawksworth were at table 4. 

There were separate lines for each player and being the Kershaw/Hawksworth line was the longest, I jumped in that one.  Some of the other lines were pretty short, so I asked the couple in front of me if they would hold my place in line and once they agreed I jumped in the Garland/Cormier line.  Once I got their autographs I got in the Broxton/Guerrier line.  I got their signatures and then got back in the Kershaw/Hawksworth line.  At this point, Tony Gwynn Jr. joined Hiroki Kuroda at his table.  I contemplated getting in that line but just stayed in the Kershaw/Hawksworth line.  I was about 10-12 people away from the front when Kershaw & Hawksworth left.

Overall is was a good experience.  Here are the pics of my autographs:

Jonathan Broxton on a 2009 All-Star Game game ball

Matt Guerrier on a Dodgers post card

Lance Cormier

Jon Garland

Pretty good additions to my collection.  I'm sure i'll get Kershaw's autograph somewhere down the line.

True to the Blue!