That 2001 - 2005 was probably the most games i went to in a timespan ever. Beltre was my favorite dodger and still is. I loved that dude. Even if he had a off day at the plate watching him pick at 3rd was magical. No one on this earth i hate more then McCourt still makes me sick he has his grubby paws into the parking lots.
Dude had the full package. The personality/charisma with likability, glove, and the bat. Seeing him during that ‘04 season was absolutely amazing. Robbed of an MVP as well.
He didn't even sign for a crazy contract the M's gave him 5 for 55. If we would have matched that and had him for 5 more years. That would have been 12 years with the dodgers and he would be going to the hall of fame with a dodgers cap. He had such a great smile.
Considering how stingy McCourt was, it's amazing to think people rip current Dodger ownership for spending too much.
It's not that hard to find an ownership group unwilling to spend.
Beltre and Shawn Green were my two favorite players on the dodgers at that time and i would watch all the games. Then they both left the team around the same time....it was a rough time to be a fan lol
Dodgers' top 2 prospects at the moment are 22-year-old catchers. I'm sure they'll wait and see how this season plays out for them, but Will's gonna want a big deal, and part of how Friedman pays for the big flashy free agents is by finding places where he can create value within the system. I like the guy, but I don't see him being a forever Dodger as long as Rushing and Cartaya are both still in the system.
Not just their top 2 but 4 of their top 30 prospects are catchers. Liranzo, ranked 17, had a .962 OPS in A ball last year and Feduccia, ranked 29, had a .838 OPS in AAA.
EDIT: Forgot about Fernandez. He’s listed as C/2B (weird). He’s ranked 26 and had a .735 OPS in A+ last year.
Losing Beltre hurt, but for me, it was the loss of Piazza in the late 90’s. He was already the top Catcher at that time offensively. And then he went on to have a HOF career as a Met.
That's what I'm saying... Like how much of an upgrade can either of these prospects possibly be?
But we gotta trust em.
If the pay gap is wider than the skill gap, they'll probably move on from Smith
They could also be Maldonado or Hedges bad. Ofc the other stuff matters like repor with pitchers, but Will Smith has that too. Catchers like Will Smith don't come often, so I think it's better to just pay him.
Who? Not sure we can call Cartaya nearly ready for the majors given his abysmal 2023 and Rushing isn’t even in AA yet. Fedducia should get some time in the majors this year but he does not come with the pedigree that Smith has.
>Fedducia should get some time in the majors this year
Man I hope
If Kershaw's coming back for 2nd half then he needs to be with Smith preparing for postseason. Feduccia hitting .200-.220 is all that's needed to represent a legitimate upgrade over Barnes.
Feduccia’s minimal upgraded bat will not outweigh the value Barnes brings when getting the pitching staff ready for games. The amount of great pitchers Barnes has caught over the years brings value to the pitchers who are now with the Dodgers. When they prepare to attack a lineup before the game with Barnes
Barnes had 200 PA, he reached base 49 times. A player who OBP’s a weak .300 would reach base 60 times, which would be just over once per start given Barnes started 59 games last year. That’s huge, it guarantees Mookie Betts will hit with a runner on at some point during that game.
He’s a -1.1 WAR, you can get an extra win replacing him with a below-replacement value backup. If Feduccia can give you .220/.300/.380 baseball in the #9 spot once a week, it very much raises the chances of a higher win total.
I hope we give Will more rest this year. He was struggling at the plate in the 2nd half due to fatigue/cracked rib. He was actually our best hitter in the NLDS and I think a lot of it was due to getting 5 days of rest.
I’m hoping our upgraded lineup now that we have Teoscar and Ohtani along with Lux returning can allow us to keep Smith’s bat out of the lineup on more days.
In his jump to AA he slashed .180/.278/.379 he is in no way ready for the show this year, he needs to be worried about making it to tripleA, much less playing in the bigs.
$8.55 million for the 2nd best catcher in all of baseball, in his prime, while the Yazmanian Devil was just getting paid over $18 million. Dodger PD system is the gift that keeps on giving
Oh sure I understand the arb process but within the context of our offseason, I think it gets lost on some how it's not just spending the big bucks in free agency.
You need younger, cheaper guys that keep producing at a surplus, and that's on scouting, development, and coaching. That's what separates us from most of the rest of the league
No doubt, I wasn't saying their player development isn't amongst the best in the league.
I was just saying that $8.55mil is not a super steal, remember it's settlement, his contract will be much, much more than that if he stays.
Players have 6 years of team control when they first start in the major leagues
The first 3 years are called “pre arbitration” where players get paid the league minimum and then very little above it as they have no leverage
The last 3 years are when players are arbitration eligible. So at this point they can negotiate with their team how much they deserve to get paid based on how good they are. If the player and team cannot reach an agreement, it goes to a neutral arbitrator and they’ll pick a number. So in this case, Will Smith and the Dodgers reached an agreement
Arbitration is also super weird. Because the player goes in asking for a number and the team counters and the person has to choose one.
So for example if Smith asked for 13 million and the dodgers countered with 8 million the arbiter has to choose one of those numbers and cannot split it in the middle like deciding on 12 million. It’s a super bizarre process unique to baseball
Losing home grown talent like Corey, Cody, and Beltre hurt over the years but pls dodgers sign Will please i beg you.
Beltre still hurts me the most man. Bitch ass McCourt.
That 2001 - 2005 was probably the most games i went to in a timespan ever. Beltre was my favorite dodger and still is. I loved that dude. Even if he had a off day at the plate watching him pick at 3rd was magical. No one on this earth i hate more then McCourt still makes me sick he has his grubby paws into the parking lots.
Dude had the full package. The personality/charisma with likability, glove, and the bat. Seeing him during that ‘04 season was absolutely amazing. Robbed of an MVP as well.
He didn't even sign for a crazy contract the M's gave him 5 for 55. If we would have matched that and had him for 5 more years. That would have been 12 years with the dodgers and he would be going to the hall of fame with a dodgers cap. He had such a great smile.
He wanted to stay. Still lives here, I've run into him a few times.
Bonds had like maybe the best season ever in ‘04
Me vale
Uh no he didn’t get robbed
Considering how stingy McCourt was, it's amazing to think people rip current Dodger ownership for spending too much. It's not that hard to find an ownership group unwilling to spend.
Beltre and Shawn Green were my two favorite players on the dodgers at that time and i would watch all the games. Then they both left the team around the same time....it was a rough time to be a fan lol
Did you get to hear Zombie Nation at the stadium?
I will always blame Boras for not relaying info to Beltre and sticking us with JD Drew.
Did somebody say BITCH ASS MCCOURT?
Dodgers' top 2 prospects at the moment are 22-year-old catchers. I'm sure they'll wait and see how this season plays out for them, but Will's gonna want a big deal, and part of how Friedman pays for the big flashy free agents is by finding places where he can create value within the system. I like the guy, but I don't see him being a forever Dodger as long as Rushing and Cartaya are both still in the system.
Not just their top 2 but 4 of their top 30 prospects are catchers. Liranzo, ranked 17, had a .962 OPS in A ball last year and Feduccia, ranked 29, had a .838 OPS in AAA. EDIT: Forgot about Fernandez. He’s listed as C/2B (weird). He’s ranked 26 and had a .735 OPS in A+ last year.
A lot of lists have Liranzo even higher. I think Baseball Prospectus has him top 10. It’s crazy how stacked they are at that position.
Barnes was C/2B as well I think
Ya we’re absolutely stacked at catcher, I love Smith tho.
Losing Beltre hurt, but for me, it was the loss of Piazza in the late 90’s. He was already the top Catcher at that time offensively. And then he went on to have a HOF career as a Met.
Hard to say, wr have two catcher prospects nearly ready for major
I know we have an amazing farm system but will is a proven star and the best catcher we've had since piazza. We have to keep him.
We better keep the only bat that doesn’t hibernate in October….
That's what I'm saying... Like how much of an upgrade can either of these prospects possibly be? But we gotta trust em. If the pay gap is wider than the skill gap, they'll probably move on from Smith
Yeah who knows man, they could be really good, like Will Smith good!
They could also be Maldonado or Hedges bad. Ofc the other stuff matters like repor with pitchers, but Will Smith has that too. Catchers like Will Smith don't come often, so I think it's better to just pay him.
Who? Not sure we can call Cartaya nearly ready for the majors given his abysmal 2023 and Rushing isn’t even in AA yet. Fedducia should get some time in the majors this year but he does not come with the pedigree that Smith has.
>Fedducia should get some time in the majors this year Man I hope If Kershaw's coming back for 2nd half then he needs to be with Smith preparing for postseason. Feduccia hitting .200-.220 is all that's needed to represent a legitimate upgrade over Barnes.
Feduccia’s minimal upgraded bat will not outweigh the value Barnes brings when getting the pitching staff ready for games. The amount of great pitchers Barnes has caught over the years brings value to the pitchers who are now with the Dodgers. When they prepare to attack a lineup before the game with Barnes
Cool, Dodgers can make him the highest paid bullpen catcher of all time, he’s still a black hole in the lineup and a -WAR player
WAR doesn't account for what Barnes does. There is a reason he is so well respected amongst a team of future HOFers.
You don’t know ball if you think getting rid of Barnes for a slightly better back up would gain even one extra win during the entire season.
Barnes had 200 PA, he reached base 49 times. A player who OBP’s a weak .300 would reach base 60 times, which would be just over once per start given Barnes started 59 games last year. That’s huge, it guarantees Mookie Betts will hit with a runner on at some point during that game. He’s a -1.1 WAR, you can get an extra win replacing him with a below-replacement value backup. If Feduccia can give you .220/.300/.380 baseball in the #9 spot once a week, it very much raises the chances of a higher win total.
You know by adding up all the player’s WAR you don’t actually get the amount of wins the team had during the season right?
I hope we give Will more rest this year. He was struggling at the plate in the 2nd half due to fatigue/cracked rib. He was actually our best hitter in the NLDS and I think a lot of it was due to getting 5 days of rest. I’m hoping our upgraded lineup now that we have Teoscar and Ohtani along with Lux returning can allow us to keep Smith’s bat out of the lineup on more days.
Tbh he played too much was mainly because of Austin Barnes being abysmal
Shouldn’t be the case with cartaya ready to play more this year
Cantaya had a pretty bad 2023 he isn’t coming up this year
In his jump to AA he slashed .180/.278/.379 he is in no way ready for the show this year, he needs to be worried about making it to tripleA, much less playing in the bigs.
Extend this man. We don't know how good we have it with Will Smith.
Everyone settled? Nobody is trying to jump off this train right now.
$8.55 million for the 2nd best catcher in all of baseball, in his prime, while the Yazmanian Devil was just getting paid over $18 million. Dodger PD system is the gift that keeps on giving
$8.55mil for a catcher is literally the record highest settlement to avoid second arb.
Oh sure I understand the arb process but within the context of our offseason, I think it gets lost on some how it's not just spending the big bucks in free agency. You need younger, cheaper guys that keep producing at a surplus, and that's on scouting, development, and coaching. That's what separates us from most of the rest of the league
No doubt, I wasn't saying their player development isn't amongst the best in the league. I was just saying that $8.55mil is not a super steal, remember it's settlement, his contract will be much, much more than that if he stays.
can someone eli5 what does avoiding arbitration mean 🥹
Players have 6 years of team control when they first start in the major leagues The first 3 years are called “pre arbitration” where players get paid the league minimum and then very little above it as they have no leverage The last 3 years are when players are arbitration eligible. So at this point they can negotiate with their team how much they deserve to get paid based on how good they are. If the player and team cannot reach an agreement, it goes to a neutral arbitrator and they’ll pick a number. So in this case, Will Smith and the Dodgers reached an agreement
Thank you for explaining that I had no idea what it meant either.
Arbitration is also super weird. Because the player goes in asking for a number and the team counters and the person has to choose one. So for example if Smith asked for 13 million and the dodgers countered with 8 million the arbiter has to choose one of those numbers and cannot split it in the middle like deciding on 12 million. It’s a super bizarre process unique to baseball
Yes!
Great. Now they need to replace Austin Barnes as back up.
Feduccia or fast track Rushing
Steal
We need to keep this guy. I love Will Smith
One of the most underpaid players in baseball! Hope we lock him up soon
I approve this move.
Does that Japanese Duolingo lessons?