LaRoche's been driving me BONKERS, and I'm glad to see him go for his sake and ours.
Last year he came to ST with a chip on his shoulder, sure he was the Anointed One for our future 3B. He proceeded to drop balls, show lack of hustle, and in general utterly failed to win the job.
This year he came to ST with a bit more humility, but then got hurt. Nomar broke another rubber band (he's our guest star -- shows up for some of the best episodes but you never know when he'll be on TV) -- and was out, our utility infielder Ramon Martinez was out, so a brand-new kid in AA got called up, Blake DeWitt.
DeWitt carried the team for much of April. His defense was sound and solid. His plate discipline, his concentration and care at the plate was noticeable from his very first at bat. Pitchers have figured him out a bit, and we picked up a cheap rental utility infielder Casey Blake who's been doing a fine job now at third-- but it was growing increasingly clear that DeWitt was our future 3B, and LaRoche had no place in LA. It wasn't really fair to make him bench warm.
Whereas our other young prospects like Kemp and Loney are fairly vital for the future.
Essentially, LaRoche became our most valuable trading piece, and for once, I think Colletti actually pulled the plug on the right deal.
Oddly, I've heard of Manny, but the weird exhibition game at the Coliseum this ST was the first time I'd watched him.
He's coming to LA full of bounce, smiles, a sense of humor and looking ready to work. I'll admit I was charmed; he's going to fit right into Hollywood (although it's weird; all the Dodgers teams I've seen have been teams first with no "lead actor", despite Nomar and Martin). We'll see. Manny's got something to prove now, so hopefully he'll behave himself and give us a boost. I'll admit, it was fun watching him tonight, even if he GIDP at the end when we needed him to come through.
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Last year he came to ST with a chip on his shoulder, sure he was the Anointed One for our future 3B. He proceeded to drop balls, show lack of hustle, and in general utterly failed to win the job.
This year he came to ST with a bit more humility, but then got hurt. Nomar broke another rubber band (he's our guest star -- shows up for some of the best episodes but you never know when he'll be on TV) -- and was out, our utility infielder Ramon Martinez was out, so a brand-new kid in AA got called up, Blake DeWitt.
DeWitt carried the team for much of April. His defense was sound and solid. His plate discipline, his concentration and care at the plate was noticeable from his very first at bat. Pitchers have figured him out a bit, and we picked up a cheap rental utility infielder Casey Blake who's been doing a fine job now at third-- but it was growing increasingly clear that DeWitt was our future 3B, and LaRoche had no place in LA. It wasn't really fair to make him bench warm.
Whereas our other young prospects like Kemp and Loney are fairly vital for the future.
Essentially, LaRoche became our most valuable trading piece, and for once, I think Colletti actually pulled the plug on the right deal.
Oddly, I've heard of Manny, but the weird exhibition game at the Coliseum this ST was the first time I'd watched him.
He's coming to LA full of bounce, smiles, a sense of humor and looking ready to work. I'll admit I was charmed; he's going to fit right into Hollywood (although it's weird; all the Dodgers teams I've seen have been teams first with no "lead actor", despite Nomar and Martin). We'll see. Manny's got something to prove now, so hopefully he'll behave himself and give us a boost. I'll admit, it was fun watching him tonight, even if he GIDP at the end when we needed him to come through.