Dodgers Sign Tony Gwynn Jr For Two Years

Sticking with his backloaded-two-year deal theme, Ned Colletti signed Tony Gwynn Jr today. The deal is worth $2 million. He'll earn $850,000 in 2012 and $1.15 million in 2013. 


From Dodgers.com:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the signing of outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year contract. General manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.The versatile outfielder appeared in a career-high 136 games at all three outfield positions with the Dodgers last year in his first season with the club and posted a .907 zone rating, which tied for second among qualifying National League outfielders. The 29-year-old ranked among the league leaders with a .993 fielding percentage, tying for ninth among NL outfielders with just one error in 677.0 innings, and tied for 15^th on the circuit with eight outfield assists. Gwynn averaged 0.11 assists per 9.0 innings, which led National League outfielders.

At the plate, Gwynn batted .256 and posted career-best marks with 12 doubles, 22 stolen bases and 22 RBIs. He also tied with Jamey Carroll for the team lead with a career high-tying six triples. The left-handed hitter batted .333 (8-for-24) in 27 appearances as a pinch-hitter, tying for the seventh-highest mark in the Majors, and has a .288 career batting average in that role.

Gwynn delivered in pressure situations for the Dodgers throughout the season, hitting a walk-off single to beat the Angels on June 26 and batting .286 (18-for-63) in close and late situations. He also preserved a pair of Dodger victories with ninth-inning diving catches in the field, doing so with two outs and the bases loaded on April 29 in a 3-2 win against the Padres and again on June 11 with the bases full to save an 11-7 win at Colorado.

Gwynn was originally selected by Milwaukee in the second round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft and traded to San Diego in exchange for outfielder Jody Gerut during the 2009 season. He attended San Diego State University, where he played for his father and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, and graduated from Poway (CA) High School. His uncle, Chris, was the Dodgers’ first-round selection in the 1985 draft and played parts of seven seasons in Los Angeles (1987-91 and 1994-95).

I'm trying to get my head around this one. Yeah, TGJ's got a good glove and it's nice having in the outfield in those close games, but he was under team control for 2012. All Ned had to do was tender him a contract and he's in Dodger blue next season, yet he gives Gwynn a second year. Huh? Not that it's a lot of money, it's just that the second guaranteed year was unnecessary. 


With five outfielders now signed in 2012, where does this leave Jerry Sands? 

Dodger Sign Aaron Harang

Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images North America

According to MLBTradeRumors.com (via MLB Network's Jon Heyman), the Dodgers have signed pitcher Aaron Harang to two-year deal worth roughly $12 million.


 From MLBTR.com:

Harang, 33, enjoyed a nice rebound campaign with his hometown Padres in 2011. The former Reds ace notched 170 2/3 innings, his highest total since 2008, while posting a solid ERA of 3.64, striking out 6.5 per nine, and walking 3.1 per nine.

FIP and SIERA marks of 4.17 and 4.25, respectively suggest that Harang, a flyball pitcher (41%) was likely aided somewhat by moving from Great American Ballpark to the spacious confines of Petco Park. His new home park, Dodger Stadium, also has a history of limiting the long ball, though not as much as Petco.

I don't have a huge problem with this signing. His numbers aren't bad, although he did pitch at PetCo. I think Harang is fine as a fifth starter, and he should pitch well at Dodger Stadium. I just would've preferred Hiroki Kuroda over Harang and Chris Capuano.


The rotation is set now:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Chad Billingsley
3. Ted Lilly
4. Chris Capuano
5. Aaron Harang


It's one big Ace at the top of the rotation and four #5-types. And yes, Chad Billingsley is a number-five-type  of pitcher. At least Kuroda would have been a solid #2. 

Donnie Baseball To Manage Dodgers in 2011

It was announced earlier today that hitting coach Don Mattingly will replace Joe Torre next season as the Dodgers manager. Mattingly has never manged at any level of the game.

From today's Dodgers Press Release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that former American League MVP Don Mattingly has been named the Dodger manager for the 2011 season and that Joe Torre has stepped aside from the position. Mattingly becomes the ninth manager in Los Angeles Dodger history and 27th in franchise history while Torre is expected to take time to determine his plans for 2011

"Over the past three years, I've had the opportunity to work with Don closely and have gotten to know him both personally and professionally and I'm convinced that he's the right person to lead the Dodgers," said Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti. "His work ethic is unparalleled, his baseball knowledge is vast and his leadership skills have been established during more than three decades in professional baseball.

 

"Donnie has also learned alongside the best in the business. Joe Torre has been a great friend, a strong leader and an incredible presence for this organization and I cannot thank him enough for his service to the Dodgers. I respect his decision to step aside and I look forward to the day where I can watch him take his rightful place in Cooperstown among baseball's legends."


Mattingly is completing his seventh season as a Major League coach (2004-10) following seven seasons as a special instructor during Spring Training for the Yankees (1997-2003). He is in his third season as the Dodgers' hitting coach following one season as the bench coach under Torre in New York (2007) and three years as the Yankees' hitting coach (2004-06).

"The opportunity to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers is truly an honor," said Mattingly. "There are few organizations in the world with the history, tradition and track record of success as the Dodgers. I'm looking forward to continuing what I came here to accomplish with Joe and that's to win a World Championship."


Mattingly will manage in the Arizona Fall League at the completion of the regular season. He becomes the eighth current Major League manager to pilot a big league club without previous managerial experience, joining Torre, Dusty Baker, Joe Girardi, Ozzie Guillen, Cito Gaston, Bud Black and Kirk Gibson. Lou Piniella, who began the year as the Cubs' manager, also managed in the Major Leagues without any minor league experience. Guillen won the World Series in his second year, Gaston in his third full season and Piniella and Girardi in their fourth seasons as a big league skipper. Bob Brenly won the World Series in his first year as a big league manager.

Mattingly spent 14 seasons as a first baseman for New York, where he compiled a .307 lifetime average with 222 home runs and 1,099 RBI while earning MVP honors in 1985, nine Rawlings Gold Glove Awards and six All-Star appearances.


He becomes just the ninth manager in Los Angeles Dodger history, following Hall of Famers Walter Alston (1954-76) and Tommy Lasorda (1977-96), Bill Russell (1996-98), Glenn Hoffman (1998), Davey Johnson (1999-2000), Jim Tracy (2001-05), Grady Little (2006-07) and Torre (2008-10).


Torre guided the Dodgers to consecutive National League Championship Series appearances and reached the postseason in a record-tying 14 consecutive seasons from 1996-2009. The certain future Hall of Famer has more postseason victories than any other manager in Major League history, ranks fifth on the all-time regular season wins list and has posted a three-year record with the Dodgers of 251-220 (.533) through last night's game. He finished third in 2009 NL Manager of the Year voting.
"It has been an incredible honor to wear the Dodger uniform and I will always carry with me some very special memories from the past three seasons," said Torre. "This was not a decision I took lightly but I believe it's the right one for myself and my family and I'm truly thrilled that Donnie will be the one leading the Dodgers. It's time that the Dodgers had a new voice and I have the utmost confidence in him. I know he's ready for the challenge."

I've been critical of Don Mattingly in the past. The Dodgers rank 12th in the National League in total batting stats. To say the offense has been bad, would be an understatement. If he can't help this team as the hitting coach, how will he do as the manager? On any other team, Donnie Baseball would have been fired by now, not promoted.

He's managed in two games for the Dodgers. He made mistakes in both games. One was in the preseason, where the Dodgers were penalized for batting out of order because the lineup card that had been posted in the clubhouse, didn't match the one given to the umpires. The other was this past July when he vistited Jonathan Broxton on the mound twice, and Broxton had to be removed from the game.


Like a lot of other Dodger fans, I would like to have seen AAA Albuquerque Isotopes' manager Tim Wallach given an opportunity to manage the Dodgers. Wallach played for the Dodgers and  has the managerial experience.

Am I surprised the team made this move? No, not at all. This is the typical ass-backwards move made by Frank McCourt and Ned Colletti. Does this mean I want Don Mattingly to fail? Absolutely not. I want this team to win in 2011. Maybe Don Mattingly is the right choice to manage the Dodgers. I don't think he is. I hope I'm proven wrong.

Tattooed

Former Dodger farmhand, Josh Bell, now with the Baltimore Orioles, hit an opposite-field homerun in last night's Angels/Orioles game. His third on the year. The kid is strong, that's for sure. Can the Dodgers send George Sherrill back to Baltimore? Steve Melewski at MASN's On the Orioles takes a look at Bell, and likes what he sees in the short time he's been with Baltimore. Although he does feel Josh is a work in progress, and could be back in AAA next year to work on a few things.

Still ,after seeing Bell hit that homerun last night, I couldn't help but get upset that he's in an Orioles uniform, and not playing in AAA Albuquerque, awaiting a Dodger call-up.

I hate Ned Colletti.

Click image below to see the homerun.