Joe Crede from MLB.com

So this is a little bit of old news from this weekend, but I’m finally catching up.  It’s amazing how much harder it is to keep up with posts when you have an 8 month old daughter who has been up 4-6 times a night for 3 nights.  Yeah…enough said.

Anyway, this one didn’t make a lot of noise in the baseball world, but it definitely caught my attention as a Dodgerfan living in Giants territory.

The Giants wanted Joe Crede.  They have wanted him for 2 years.  They went after him last year and this year, and twice they came up empty.  I’m sure some Giants fans are happy, because he like Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal are injury risks, but it’s the fact that they lost him twice that stings.  To lose him twice means he really turned the Giants down.  Who knows if it was money, or location, or negotiations, or that his family likes the snow better, but either way, he didn’t want to play for the Giants.  That has to hurt management, and it probably means other guys felt the same way.

The Giants are plugging this guy Pablo Sandoval to compete for third base.  He came up big at the end of last year, and honestly, a lot of Giants fans see him as the savior to their need for offense.  Being a catcher switching to third base, we’ll see how it goes, but he could be a good spark.  Either way, it still is a second option to Joe Crede.

As a Dodgerfan, I never want to be too mean, but I have no problem seeing the Giants lose who they wanted.  The weaker they are, the sooner the Dodgers can pass them.

Orlando Hudson - MLB.com

So Orlando Hudson is now a Dodger. There’s been a lot written on him and whether he should be a Dodger, but I don’t think it’s a bad move. He is a proven defender (which the Dodgers needed), and if he has a good year, he could be great on offense too.

My cousin lives in Arizona and wrote this to me on facebook:
“Nice pick of of O-Dog (Orlando Hudson). That’s a big sting to D-backs fans, he was a favorite.”

This actually says a lot to me. If he was a fan favorite, that means he hustles and gets the job done.  Adding people like that to the team only makes the team better. It does create a little potential log jam in the in-field, (I do like DeWitt) but that’s probably ok. Jon Weisman’s blog makes a good point that given Furcal’s injury history, a little redundancy is a good thing.

Given the money, this deal is a steal.  I think Ned Colletti’s new nickname should be “The Bargain Hunter.”  I don’t know that this is a compliment given his job, but man does he grab the deals.  It honestly makes you wonder if there is a special clause in his contract that if he cuts a certain amount off contracts that he gets a commission.  He didn’t seem to get that from Brian Sabean (Ahh the Zito contract will never die), but he does seem to have it.

The biggest knock against Hudson is that he makes the Dodgers give their #17 pick to the Diamondbacks.  Giving away minor league players doesn’t seem to be a problem to The Bargain Hunter.  Good, bad, or indifferent, he has always preferred the proven “bird in the hand, rather than two in the bush.”  Here’s a great article by Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness on how recent #17 pics have turned out.  There’s been a lot more that haven’t worked out…but the list does make you cringe a little bit…especially Cole Hamels.

Either way, the move continues to bolster the offense and defense, and pulls help from the Diamondbacks at least this year.  Now if only we could still find more pitching…

Let me know your thoughts – Do you like Hudson?

Manny Ramirez from Dodgers.com

So I’m a fan of Manny.  I really am.  What he did for the Dodgers last year changed the whole season and gave hope to the fans.  He was the hero we’ve all wanted, and he was clutch in every way.  Having said that, I believe the fans were move motivated by the winning and his clutch-ness, than just Manny alone.  He was his own personality, which people liked, but the fans liked more that the Dodgers were winning.  If the Dodgers have Manny, and they take 3rd place, it’s a totally different discussion.

So now that Manny has rejected offer number 3, it’s time to move on.  At a certain point, it’s obvious if sides will come to meet in-between.  That doesn’t seem to be the case with Manny and the Dodgers.  I give the Dodgers credit for holding their stance to a short term contract and knowing the market.  Even more, they have come from different angles, but Manny hasn’t changed his stance.

I personally like the idea of signing Wolf, Sheets, Hudson and Dunn to 1 year deals worth 8 mil each.  Yes, the 32 mil is worth more than the 25 for Manny, but taking the budget from ~65 mil to ~97 isn’t that bad considering all the holes are met.  You get pitching – #1.  You get a bat – Dunn.  You get a solid second bat in Hudson.  Worst case, you have too much pitching, but I don’t know that this is a bad thing.  Since Sheets and Wolf and Schmidt are all wildcards, if you need to move them in and out of a bullpen role, there is always that flexibility.

Just for fun – I did a comparison from MLB.com.

Dunn:

Hudson:

Ramirez:

Interesting results.  Adding Dunn and Hudson does give most of what Ramirez could give, but without the Average.  Manny still rules on that count.  When it comes to clutch-factor…you can’t really measure that, and it’s hard to say either of those guys will match Manny.

Manny would be the first choice, especially at 1 yr and 25 mil; but for 3 or 4 years at 25 mil, it just isn’t going to happen.  Old baggage doesn’t leave quickly, and what Manny did is finally coming back to haunt him.

So what do you think Dodger Fans – take the poll below and tell me if you think the Dodgers should move on.