Kuzul

Heading into the winter after their worst season in eight years, the Angels looked like they planned on being among the offseason’s biggest buyers.  Arte Moreno and Tony Reagins both asserted that they would do everything they could to shore up the team’s obvious weaknesses.  They targeted All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford, and were thought to be the favorites to sign him from day one.  If there was a big free-agent name available this winter, the Angels were going to inquire on him.  They were linked to all the big names, from Crawford, Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko, to Adrian Beltre and closer Rafael Soriano.

We’re nearly three months into the offseason, most of the big names are gone and big news is already made.  The Angels, with glaring issues in the bullpen, at third base and left field, would surely make a big-money splash or two in the free-agent pool.  It seemed like everyone was conceding Crawford to sign on to play with his pal Torii Hunter, but the Angels’ hard-line negotiating left no room for paying Crawford a dollar more than what they thought he is worth.  One by one, the big contracts were signed by the impact free agents.  It seemed like every team got a piece of the pie except for the Angels.

When all was said and done, the Angels’ free-agent haul read like this: veteran lefties Scott Downs for three years/$15 million and Hisanori Takahashi for two years/$8 million.  Ugh.  The bullpen is in a little better shape now, but what about the needs in the field?  It seems like the Angel brass forgot what they set out to do just a month before.

There is a lot of speculation and confusion as to what the strategy is for Reagins and Moreno.  Maybe they’re bad negotiators who didn’t have the courage to commit to Crawford or Beltre or Soriano. More likely, I think they are playing their cards close to the vest, which has characterized recent decisions regarding personnel and acquisitions.

Here is what I think is going on: Moreno, always concerned with his balance sheet and happiness of the fanbase, is doing all he can to make good on his promise to not raise ticket and concession prices due to increased payroll.  He’s hoping that he will continue to accrue good will with the fans over the long term, so that they repay him in loyalty and trust in times like this offseason when frustration and confusion reign.

That’s not all.  I think the decision-makers are looking ahead to next winter, when (as of current contract status) names like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Robinson Cano, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and Aramis Ramirez will be on the free-agent market.  The current offseason of restraint and savings are just one cog in the wheel to position for a spending spree next year.  Maybe they make a big run at Pujols, and why not?  The Cardinals will be the only other team with the flexibility and room to compete for him.

After his struggles over the last two years, maybe Reagins thinks he can get Aramis Ramirez to fill the void at third base at a discount.  Slogging through another year with a platoon at third would certainly be worth signing Ramirez, right?  I think so, especially given the alternative of overpaying Beltre by $25 million this year, like Texas just did.

The point is I’ve seen Moreno and Reagins do curious and unconventional things before.  They go against the grain. They take gambles. They wait for a big payoff while everyone else chases instant gratification.  Prudence and restraint are vital in any kind of business investment.  The same goes for running a baseball team.

Frustrated?  Confused?  Angry?  Anxious?  I am all of the above regarding the current Angel landscape.  However, I’m glad to have Arte Moreno as my owner, and he has proven himself trustworthy as an acquirer of players over the last eight years.  I trust that he and Reagins are doing something good for the team, even if it isn’t quite visible on the surface or paying immediate dividends.   

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With spring training quickly approaching, several questions continue to linger in terms of how the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 25-man roster will shape up once the players arrive at Camelback Ranch to prepare themselves for the long journey ahead.

Although general manager Ned Colletti has been very active this winter with numerous new additions to the club, there are still players on the free agent market available who may have the skills or abilities to complete a roster with a few holes.

Right now, the buzz around Dodgertown suggests that the team’s biggest needs are an outfielder with power, a number-two hitter in the lineup, and a left-handed arm in the bullpen. While Colletti may indeed explore free agent possibilities or entertain trade options, the organization is rich with talent and there are plenty of components to assemble a formidable 25-man roster.

Several roster spots may be determined by individual performances during Cactus League play, most specifically the fifth outfielding spot and the sixth arm in the bullpen. While there will be tight competition to finalize these several spots, the new coaching staff will also look to establish chemistry and generate positive momentum heading into Opening Day.

Assuming that the roster stays relatively the same as the season approaches, the following slides project all 25 players who may find themselves on the 25-man roster, show a handful of players who will be in heated battles to earn a place on the big league squad, as well as recommend a starting lineup for Opening Day on April 1.

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The AL West was one of the worst divisions in baseball in 2010.

Entering the season, projections were all over. Each team was picked to both win the division or finish in the cellar, depending on which prediction you read.

The shape of each club is a bit easier to tell going into 2011, but there are still several questions for each club and the players signed to them.

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The MLB has benefited greatly off of imported talent.  A recent wave of Japanese and South American players have taken the game by storm.  

Today, about 27% of MLB consists of foreign-born players.  Great talents like Hideki Matsui and Ichiro were established already in Japan.  They still were able to make an even bigger name for themselves here in the States.  Many others from South American countries as well have “made it big” in America.  Collectively, these foreign-born plays add another dimension to the game.  

Baseball has become the most diverse sport in the world.  It’s no longer limited to the 50 states in America but has expanded across the globe.

A lot of scouting goes into finding talent overseas.  Teams with better international scouting tend to land such talent.  We’ve seen foreign players (who teams sometimes know little about) get some large contracts here.  Whether deservedly or not, many have had success in MLB.  

Here are the top five free-agent signings of foreign-born players.  

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New Year’s Day is nearly upon us, and perhaps no MLB team is looking forward to a fresh start in 2011 more than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

From the ugly proceedings of the McCourt divorce to the departure of Manny Ramirez to the retirement of Joe Torre, the Dodgers had their fair share of pitfalls in a year that saw them fail to capture a third consecutive NL West division title.

But it wasn’t all bad for the Boys in Blue. The long-awaited emergence of young stars like Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley gave general manager Ned Colletti plenty of reason to hope that his team will see better days sooner rather than later.

That being said, let’s have a look at some of the most notable ups and downs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010.

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Just about every single fan across Dodgertown is elated the 2010 campaign is now in the past, yet Matt Kemp, although his season was not a total bust, holds both higher hopes and expectations for the journey ahead.

Although he led the Dodgers in RBI, extra-base hits, runs scored and home runs (setting a career high in the process), it was a tough year in many other ways—his batting average dropped dramatically over last season, he was caught stealing 15 times on the basepaths, he set a club record for strikeouts and at times his defense was much less than stellar.

Considering his 2010 salary was $4 million, most teams around Major League Baseball would sacrifice that expenditure in a heartbeat for a player who will produce 28 home runs, 89 RBI, 25 doubles, six triples, 19 stolen bases and 82 runs scored—despite a .249 average.

Yet the media, his own general manager, his coaching staff and the fans came down especially hard on Kemp for one reason only: They all know he has the talent to be a better player.

After the season was over, Matt Kemp himself admitted he could have been better. But what the typical misinformed fan doesn’t realize is that last year was a crazy roller-coaster ride for all of the Boys in Blue, especially for Kemp.

The following slides illustrate several of the obstacles Kemp had to deal with in 2010, show several of the changes made moving forward and explain why Matt Kemp will rebound in 2011. 

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My buddy Vinnie over at Talking Giants Baseball contacted me and told me he would like me to do a guest blog entry about the Dodgers. He wants me to throw a preview at him. Well…he’s not going to like what I’m about to write, because the Dodgers are coming back full force next year for a 100 win season and that NL West title.

Last season the Dodgers ended with an 80-82 record, far below the 95 wins they had in 2009. A few different things contributed to their drastic fall in performance. In no order:

1. Matt Kemp – Since 2007, when Kemp played 92 games and had nearly 300 at bats, he’s never had a season in which he batted below.290. Last season he hit only .249, and while his power continued to develop, his tremendous decrease in contact made him a less dangerous RBI guy, and robbed him of several possible home run opportunities.

I don’t know if its his newly formed relationship with Rihanna or just an off year, but Kemp’s defense also took a terrible tumble. He was coming off a gold glove season in center field with every night having a possible web gem, but last season he continuously misplayed balls and looked foolish. Kemp will need to regain his earlier, more promising form if the Dodgers are going to have a chance to win the NL West.

2. Jonathan Broxton – What the hell happened to Broxton? He was terrible last season. All of a sudden he looked scared and confused, like he had no idea what he was doing on a pitcher’s mound.

In previous years, when the Dodgers would send Broxton and his 100MPH fastball out for the final three outs, there was very little doubt that he would get the job done. Maybe his two previous collapses in the NLCS against the Phillies finally caught up to him, but last season his ERA ballooned to 4.04.

In his previous four seasons, Broxton’s ERA had only been above 2.85 once (3.13, 2008). Unless Broxton is dealt this season, he will need to come back down to Earth and start knocking people down again.

3. The Divorce – The McCourts’ looming divorce didn’t allow the Dodgers to go out and add the pieces they needed in order to compete. They needed to fill out the rotation better and the people who we did add were all old journeyman. It was almost as though they made some moves to make it look like they were still trying to compete.

This offseason however, when many people thought that the trend would continue, we’ve been one of the most active teams (besides Boston, or New York). We’ve gone out and bolstered our starting five, with the re-signing of Kiroki Kuroda and Ted Lilly along with the addition of Jon Garland.

Based on last year’s statistics, this group is the best rotation in the MLB. If they can continue to work deep into ballgames, and keep our team in position to win games, we just have to hope our pen can handle the rest.

4. Manny Ramirez – Well…Manny wasn’t really Manny anymore. Maybe this is the new Manny we have to look forward to, but luckily, as a team, we don’t have to worry about it anymore. Personally, I’ve always been a big Ramirez fan, but after he was suspended for his “PED’s” he was never the same. Coincidence? I don’t really care; either way, he was not the same middle of the lineup threat that he used to be.

In 66 games with the Dodgers he did manage to hit .311, but only hit 8 homeruns. In 2010 his AB/HR ratio was 24.5/1, a far cry from the end of 2008 when he came to the Dodgers and propelled them into the playoffs when it was 11/1. Manny has to be having fun to play good baseball, and after he was suspended fifty games he didn’t seem to handle the pressure of the LA fans very well. Good luck Manny.

With these reasons looking to change, the Dodgers should be at least 10 wins better than they were a year ago. That puts them at minimum 90-72. Not the 100 wins that I boldly (and semi-jokingly) predicted at the beginning of this preview. The biggest weaknesses for the Dodgers last season were driving in runs, and late-game bullpen issues.

Those are two very pivotal issues when it comes to baseball, but I think with Matt Kemp returning to form, the additions of Vicente Padilla to the bullpen and Tony Gwynn to the outfield, the Dodgers have already improved. With the rumors swirling that they are after Prince Fielder (for Broxton and Loney), the Dodgers aren’t done changing this team.

At the current state the Dodgers are in, I think think they are a lock for nothing lower than No. 2 in the NL West. With the addition of a big bat in left field and one more arm in the bullpen, I think we can realistically contend for a 100-win season, and the NL West title.

Check out the N.L. West Sneak Peak No. 1: S.F. Giants

This article is also featured on The L.A. Sports Minute.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the hot stove season already past its boiling point and the beginning of spring training less than eight weeks away, many teams across Major League Baseball continue to dot their I’s and cross their T’s while preparing for the long season ahead.

Buried deep within the trade rumors and the free-agent market are the teams’ farm systems, and for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the next generation of future stars is both extremely talented and very exciting.

Although the number of players on the Dodgers farm who are actually Major League ready is very slim, there are at least a dozen stars who may be prepared to burst onto the scene as early as the fall of 2011 or the spring of 2012.

The minor league teams themselves within the Dodger organization continue to shine. The Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers low Single-A affiliate, boasted the best record in all of the minor leagues in 2010. Led by Manager Juan Bustabad, the Loons eventually fell to the Lake County Captains in the second round of the Midwest Playoffs.

Under the guidance of first year manager Damon Berryhill, the Dodgers’ Rookie League affiliate, the Ogden Raptors, advanced to the Championship Series in the Pioneer League and eventually fell to the Helena Brewers in a tightly contested series of games.

Focusing on the players specifically, the talent level of pitching is tremendous—both in terms of starters and the bullpen. The number of infield prospects who set themselves apart may be a bit on the thin side, but the stars in the outfield are plentiful, and they showcase a blend of speed, power and exceptional glove work. The catching department is rebuilding, but within a full season it should be at its peak once again and have several rookies who are ready for the show.

The following slides show the Top 10 most valuable prospects heading into next season and offer a bit of commentary for each player. In addition to the Top 10, there’s a bonus slide included which features more than 15 players broken down by position who have also soared to the top of the farm and caught the eyes of both Dodgers managers and coaches.

For classification purposes, the list shown doesn’t include any players who have already made their Major League debuts. Also, the rankings are completely subjective and original, and they aren’t sanctioned or endorsed by any group or entity affiliated with Major League Baseball.

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Spring training may still be two months away, but the cold winter months have had little success subduing MLB’s offseason hot stove.

The fall of 2010 has been an eventful one in the baseball world, even with the free agent class being as thin as it is.

As always, there are some teams that have added tremendously to their chances of World Series title contention in 2011, and plenty more that have been set back further, whether by their own missteps or by the unexpected choices of those they pursued (cough…Cliff Lee…cough).

With the likes of Adrian Beltre and Vladimir Guerrero still on the market, the hot stove might very well stay that way right up until Opening Day at the end of March 2011.

With that in mind, here’s a mid-December look at the offseason’s biggest winners and losers thus far.

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Now that the Winter Meetings are over and Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth have signed mammoth contracts, what’s next? What other impact free-agents are still out there? 

It looks more likely this winter that there will be significant player movement via trade. In this economic climate it makes sense for smaller market teams to trade players who are looking at large salary increases in the near future in exchange for younger players that they can control for a significant amount of time.

Let’s take a look at 15 of the various rumors still circulating and see if they have any juice behind them.

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