Dave Roberts from SFGiants.com - Eric Risbert - AP

So the Giants released Dave Roberts today.  The Giants decided that with his injuries slowing him down, and young guys already showing promise that it was best to just eat his 6.5 million dollar salary this year. (See article here)

I offer a salute to Dave Roberts because I always liked him as a player.  He was by far my favorite player on the Dodgers when he played for them.  He played like I always loved to; with speed.  He would get on the bases and mess with the pitchers just like I used to try and do.  He always had a great success rate swiping bags and I didn’t think anyone other than Brett Butler could lay down a drag bunt from the left side like Dave Roberts could.

I was truly distraught when Paul DePodesta cleaned house that year and traded Dave Roberts away.  Dave always had one achilles heal and that was injuries.  When he played, he could field and run, but it always seemed like he couldn’t ever avoid injuries long enough to get up to speed for a long period of time.  He was horrible for me as a fantasy player.  Yeah, he could get SBs for you, but you never knew when he would play, so you never knew to play him.  Even worse if you left him in all the time, you lost points from other guys because he would suddenly be scratched from the lineup.

Even though he was traded away the fact that he went to the Red Sox that year was sweet justice.  No matter what anyone says, I believe that if Dave Roberts doesn’t steal that bag in the Championship Series, that they don’t eventually go on to win the World Series.  That was the spark.  That was the make it or break it play.  The moneyball Red Sox suddenly had to depend on speed and they traded for him just for that purpose.  Everyone watching that game knew he was sent in to steal a bag.  Everyone knew he was going.  Every viewer, every player on the other team, and especially the catcher.  That’s what I loved about that scene.  It was the best against the best.  Speed versus the catcher’s strong arm.  The catcher was tipped off, he just had to throw him out.  The best part was he couldn’t.  Dave was fast enough to steal the bag and the momentum just kept rising.  The Red Sox tied it and the rest is history.  (Here’s a cool article re-living that moment in Red Sox history.)

Dave Roberts went on to play for the Padres and Giants, but I never minded and always respected him.  When he’s one of your favorite players (and called one of the nicest guys in baseball), it really doesn’t matter what team he played on.

I have a good hunch someone will give him another chance next year, probably just for the off the bench hit or stolen base.  If they do, you bet I’ll still root for him.

Thanks for the memories Dave and happy trails.  It was great seeing you locally and someday I’ll teach my son to steal bags and mess with pitchers just like you did.

Paul DePodesta from Aarongleeman.com

So special thanks to mlbrumors.com for giving me the hint on Paul DePodesta’s Blog.  First off, who knew he had a blog.  Second – it’s pretty interesting.  Any time you can hear live the real voice of a baseball executive, it’s pretty interesting.  This entry happens to be about a recent arbitration case.

So Paul DePodesta will always live in infamy among Dodgerfans.  I know living up here, I didn’t know what to think.  He was great with the A’s because the A’s were great.  They continually brought up good teams with low payroll, and “Moneyball” was the name of the game.

When the Dodgers first got him, I was immediately worried.  I knew he was all about the stats, which was very different than the Dodgers were used to.  He did all right with Kent and Drew, but he shot himself in the foot with “The trade.”  The trade that sent away the beloved Paul LoDuca forever turned the fans against him.  LoDuca was the fans player and even if he faded down the stretch, he was gritty and people loved him.  Paul DePodesta was trying to get pitching, but he derailed fan momentum.

I personally was most disappointed with the Dave Roberts trade.  I loved the speed and fact that you knew that if he was on base – he was going to run.  I knew Dave Roberts leaving meant the end of speed at the top of the lineup, but also the shift to “Moneyball” which didn’t value speed.  It meant the spontaneous side of Ddoger baseball was leaving.  Ironically, the other “Moneyball” team the Red Sox, grabbed Roberts and used his speed to win the World Series.  LIfe is funny sometimes.

Well – Paul moved on, sadly to my cousin’s team the Padres and even though I belive he knows baseball, the Padres haven’t shown much promise.  I know they have to cut payroll for the owner, so that probably is the biggest factor.

Long story short, If Paul is blogging, I’ll check it out.  I’ll add it to the links as I’m sure it will be interesting to check as the year goes on.